Asthildur Loa Thorsdottir, Iceland’s minister for children, abruptly resigned after admitting that she had a baby with a teenage body over three decades ago. Ms Thorsdottir, now 58, disclosed the relationship began when she was a counsellor at a religious group the boy attended. At the time, she was 22, while he was 15, BBC reported.
While she has stepped down as the minister for children, Ms Thorsdottir, a member of the centre-left People’s Party, has no plans to leave the Parliament.
The two met when Ms Thorsdottir worked at Tru og lif (Religion and Life), where Eirik Asmundsson took refuge amid difficult circumstances at home, Icelandic news agency RUV reported on Thursday.
She gave birth to the child at 23, while the boy turned 16.
In Iceland, the age of consent is 15, and it is illegal to get physical with a person under 18 if you are their mentor or teacher or they remain financially dependent on you or even work for you. Those found guilty can get a maximum sentence of three years in jail.
It has been 36 years now and Ms Thorsdottir feels that a “lot of things” have changed. She would “definitely have dealt with these issues differently” today, she said.
Calling it a “serious matter,” Iceland Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir said she knew little more than “the average person”.
Ms FrostadOttir got the confirmation regarding the story on Thursday night and she immediately summoned Ms Thorsdottir to her office, where the children’s minister resigned, according to the Visir newspaper.
Although the relationship between Ms Thorsdottir and Mr Asmundsson was a secret, he remained present at the time of the child’s birth and even spent the first year together.
Things changed when Ms Thorsdottir met her husband.
Mr Ásmundsson earlier submitted documents to Iceland’s Justice Ministry, requesting access to his son, according to a report in a local news agency. Ms Thorsdottir denied him access despite receiving child support payments from him for 18 years.
Last week, a female relative of Mr Ásmundsson tried to contact the Prime Minister twice to discuss the matter. This made Ms Thorsdottir upset as she thought it was “very difficult to get the right story across in the news today”.