Eliza Reid

Eliza Jean Reid was born in 1976 in Ottawa and moved to Iceland in 2003. She is co-founder of the acclaimed Iceland Writers Retreat and a published author. Her first book, Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World, was published to critical acclaim in 2022.
Eliza has degrees from the University of Toronto and Oxford University. In her capacity as First Lady of Iceland, she has been outspoken in promoting gender equality, tourism & sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation, and the country’s writers and rich literary heritage. She was previously editor for Icelandair’s in-flight magazine and a staff writer at Iceland Review, the longest running magazine about Iceland. In 2017 she was named a United Nations Special Ambassador for Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Eliza works actively with Business Iceland on projects to promote Icelandic exports and the country as a destination.