Reykjavík · Family · Faith

Personal

Behind a life of international projects are family, Icelandic roots and a faith put into practice.

01 / HOME & FAMILY

The life behind
the work.

Halldór was born in Reykjavík in 1948 and has lived in the city for most of his life. He married Björg Davíðsdóttir in 1978.

They have five children and four grandchildren. Between 1990 and 1993 the family lived in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his publishing career began.

For all the travel, home has always been the fixed point: Björg, the children and, now, the grandchildren.

02 / FAITH

A night that changed everything.

Halldór Pálsson as a young man, 1961 — Halldór · 1961

When Halldór received Jesus, his life changed overnight. He stopped drinking, smoking and partying, and from then on he read the Bible literally, as the word of God.

Halldór has belonged to the Pentecostal church Fíladelfía since he was 19. Faith took him door to door across Iceland for Samhjálp, raising support for people struggling with alcoholism.

In 1987 Halldór, his sister Guðrún Margrét Pálsdóttir, Georg and close friends founded ABC Children’s Aid, building support in Iceland for children in Africa. Guðrún Margrét led ABC for 27 years, almost entirely as a volunteer, and ran for President of Iceland in 2016.

For many years he was active in the Gideons in Iceland and the Global Leadership Summit (GLS), and he has tried to take part in as many Christian projects as he can.

On his 50th anniversary with Jesus, Halldór spoke at Fíladelfía about how he became a Christian and what it meant for his life.

Read the early career story

03 / AN OPEN DOOR

Enoch

Enoch Osei came to Iceland from Ghana to study at Reykjavík University. Like Halldór years before, he felt called by God, and he came with very little, the first in his family ever to travel abroad. Their paths crossed outside Fíladelfía, Halldór’s church, and before long Enoch had become part of the family.

He went on to complete a master’s degree in Human Resource Management and Organisational Psychology. Today he co-leads the worship team at Catch the Fire, the church founded and led by Guðrún Margrét Pálsdóttir and her husband, Hannes Lentz.

Enoch tells the story in his own words in his memoir, Refined, where he describes their meeting as a gift from God.

04 / TRAVEL

Beyond Iceland

International publishing brought Halldór to countries across four continents. Between the formal meetings there were quieter moments too, like a day on the Great Wall of China.