| R 308 |
| 2025 -- S 1075 Enacted 05/15/2025 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| WELCOMING ELIZA REID, RENOWNED WRITER AND FORMER FIRST LADY OF ICELAND, TO THE RHODE ISLAND STATE HOUSE |
Introduced By: Senators Lawson, Valverde, Lauria, Tikoian, Sosnowski, Rogers, LaMountain, Urso, Appollonio, and Britto |
| Date Introduced: May 15, 2025 |
| WHEREAS, Eliza Reid grew up on a farm near Ottawa, Canada. She later moved to |
| Ashton and was a student at Trinity College, University of Toronto, where she earned her |
| Bachelor's degree in International Relations, and later attained her Master's degree in Modern |
| History from St. Antony's College, Oxford University; and |
| WHEREAS, In 2003, Eliza Reid moved to Iceland and became a freelance writer for |
| multiple Icelandic publications. From 2005 to 2008, she wrote for The Reykjavík Grapevine and |
| Iceland Review, and in 2012, she became an editor for Icelandair Stopover. In 2014, she co- |
| founded the Iceland Writers Retreat, an event which has garnered international acclaim; and |
| WHEREAS, In 2004, Eliza Reid married Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, and in 2016, became |
| the First Lady of Iceland when her husband became the country's sixth President. During her |
| tenure as first lady, Eliza actively sought opportunities to advance and bring focus on gender |
| equality, entrepreneurship and innovation, tourism and sustainability. She also supported and |
| encouraged the country's writers and promoted its rich literary heritage; and |
| WHEREAS, A bestselling author, Eliza Reid wrote Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's |
| Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World, published in 2022, and Death on |
| the Island, also known as Death of a Diplomat, published in 2025; and |
| WHEREAS, Throughout her career, Eliza Reid has been a patron of many Icelandic |
| organizations, including the United Nations Association Iceland, is a Goodwill Ambassador for |
| SOS Children's Villages Iceland, was named a United Nations Special Ambassador for Tourism |
| and the Sustainable Development Goals, and has been honored with numerous nominations for |
| 'Person of the Year' by multiple Icelandic media outlets, and honored in Berlin with an award on |
| International Women's Day; and |
| WHEREAS, Eliza Reid has brought a panoply of opportunities and a wealth of literacy to |
| the people of Iceland and the world, and she has distinguished herself as a person worthy of our |
| recognition and admiration; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby warmly welcomes |
| Eliza Reid to the Rhode Island State House. We furthermore congratulate her and wish her good |
| health, fulfillment, and much success in all her future endeavors; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Eliza Reid. |
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| LC002835 |
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