Eldur Smári Kristinsson (aka Eldur Ísidór Deville and Elds Ísidórs Deville) is an Icelandic politician and anti-trans activist. Kristinsson is associated with anti-trans hate group Genspect.
Kristinsson is part of the LGB separatist movement through LGB Samtökin (formerly Samtökin 22) and LGB International.
Background
According to an article in Feykir, Eldur Smári Kristinsson was born in November 1979 to Edda Lilja Hjaltadóttir and Kristinn Jónas Björnsson. Kristinsson is from Sauðárkrókur, Iceland.
In 2019, Kristinsson married Stuart Grahame Deville.
Kristinsson was the top candidate for the right-wing libertarian party Lýðræðisflokkurinn [The Democratic Party – Association for Self-Determination] in the Althing for the Norðvesturkjördæmi [Northwest Constituency] during the 2024 national election cycle. In late 2024, Kristinsson was subject of a complaint alleging false residence information in electoral registration, which regulators ultimately dismissed.
Anti-trans activism
Starting around 2022, Kristinsson became more outspoken in anti-trans activism. Kristinsson was a founder of Samtökin 22, a separatist organization that opposes the trans-inclusive LGBTQ rights organization Samtökin ’78. In a statement, Samtökin ’78 said:
Samtökin 22 and Samtökin ’78 are not affiliated organizations. Samtökin 22 is a small group of people who, since their founding, have not worked for the benefit of homosexuals (see, for example, the statement of a number of homosexuals and the list of signatures here ), but have primarily fostered prejudice against trans people, as can be easily seen from their social media activity and all public statements. The organization was previously called the LGB Team and is a sister organization of the transphobic organization LGB Alliance in the UK.
Samtökin 22 therefore operates under the guise of working for the rights of gays and lesbians, but in all cases their struggle seems to be primarily about attacking the rights of trans people guaranteed by the 2019 Gender Autonomy Act. They have purposefully aimed their spears at Samtökin ’78 for protecting the interests of trans people in Icelandic society. Samtökin ’78’s stated policy is that we are an association of all queer people in Iceland, and Samtökin 22 therefore goes against everything we work for every day.
Kristinsson has been the subject of a November 2024 complaint by Samtökin ’78 concerning alleged hate speech. This led to investigations and prompted Kristinsson to raise funds for a legal defense. Vísir reported:
Bjarndís Helga Tómasdóttir, chairwoman of Samtökin ’78, said the comments were indefensible and jeopardized the safety of their staff. ‘In one comment, he claims that Samtökin ’78 is grooming or seducing children. In other comments, he calls trans women pedophiles.’
Kristinsson sued Iceland’s national broadcaster RÚV and reporter Bergsteinn Sigurðsson for comments made on the show Forystusäði. They were discussing an incident where Kristinsson went to an elementary school without permission and took pictures of staff and children. The school later complained to police. On November 4, 2025, RÚV was acquitted of the charges, and Kristinsson was ordered to pay legal fees.
References
Kjartansson, Kjartan (November 3, 2025). Ekki meiðyrði hjá RÚV að lýsa yfirlýsingum Elds Smára réttilega [It is not defamation for RÚV to accurately describe Eldur Smári’s statements]. Vísir https://www.visir.is/g/20252798190d/ekki-meid-yrdi-hja-ruv-ad-lysa-yfir-lysingum-elds-smara-retti-lega
Birgisson, Brynjar (). November 3, 2025). RÚV sýknað í meiðyrðamáli: Hvorki Eldur Smári né lögmaður hans mættu [RÚV acquitted in defamation case: Neither Eldur Smári nor his lawyer attended]. Mannlíf https://mannlif.is/greinar/ruv-syknad-i-meidyrdamali/
Grettisson, Valur (November 3, 2025). Eldur tapaði fyrir RÚV og þarf að greiða hátt í milljón [Eldur lost to RÚV and has to pay close to a million.]. Heimildin https://heimildin.is/grein/25484/eldur-tapadi-fyrir-ruv-og-tharf-ad-greida-hatt-i-milljon/
Gunnarsdottir, Thorgerdur Anna (November 3, 2025). Ríkisútvarpið sýknað í miskabótamáli Elds Smára [Icelandic State Broadcasting Corporation acquitted in Eldur Smári’s compensation case]. https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2025-11-03-rikisutvarpid-syknad-i-miskabotamali-elds-smara-457952
Staff report (March 5, 2025). Eldur Smári höfðar skaðabótamál á hendur RÚV [Eldur Smári files a lawsuit against RÚV for damages}. Fréttatíminn https://frettatiminn.is/05/03/2025/eldur-smari-hofdar-skadabotamal-a-hendur-ruv/
Walker, Jackson (December 16, 2024). Icelandic gay activist says police investigating him for questioning trans breastfeeding. The National News Desk https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/icelandic-gay-activist-says-police-investigating-him-for-questioning-trans-breastfeeding-transgender-male-female-gender-identity-lgbt-eldur-smari-kristinsson
Jósefsdóttir, Sólrún Dögg (November 30, 2024). Á sér langa sögu eldfimra ummæla [Has a long history of inflammatory remarks]. Vísir https://www.visir.is/g/20242657705d/a-ser-langa-sogu-eld-fimra-um-maela
Staff report (November 23, 2024). Ætlaði að verða prestur [Wanted to become a priest]. Feykir https://www.feykir.is/is/frettir/aetladi-ad-verda-prestur
~300 signatories (April 24, 2023). Samtökin 22 eru ekki í okkar nafni. [Samtökin 22 is not in our name.] Vísir https://www.visir.is/g/20232405850d/samtokin-22-eru-ekki-i-okkar-nafni
Coverage in anti-trans media
Staff report (November 4, 2025 ). RÚV sýknað í meiðyrðamáli Elds Smára – Blaðamaður þóttist sjá á dómara hver niðurstaðan yrði [RÚV acquitted in Eldur Smári’s defamation case – Journalist thought he could see from the judge what the outcome would be]. Nútíminn https://www.nutiminn.is/forsida/ruv-syknad-i-meidyrdamali-elds-smara-bladamadur-sa-a-domara-hver-nidurstadan-yrdi/
Staff report (October 9, 2025). Aðalmeðferð í máli Elds Smára Kristinssonar gegn RÚV og Bergsteini Sigurðssyni – RÚV viðurkennir rangfærslur. [Main hearing in the case of Eldur Smári Kristinsson against RÚV and Bergsteinn Sigurðsson – RÚV admits to misrepresentations]. Nútíminn https://www.nutiminn.is/featured/adalmedferd-i-mali-elds-smara-kristinssonar-gegn-ruv-og-bergsteini-sigurdssyni-ruv-vidurkennir-rangfaerslur/
Skúlason, Gústaf (January 14, 2025). Eldur Smári Kristinsson – „hættulegur fyrir þjóðina á alla vegu“. [Eldur Smári Kristinsson – “dangerous to the nation in every way”.] Þjóðólfr https://thjodolfur.is/eldur-smari-kristinsson-haettulegur-fyrir-thjodina-a-alla-vegu/
Staff report (May 7, 2025). Something is Rotten in Iceland. Genspect https://genspect.org/something-is-rotten-in-iceland/
O’Malley, Stella (July 13, 2025). Eldur Smári Kristinsson: Speaking Truth Under Fire. Substack https://stellaomalley.substack.com/p/eldur-smari-kristinsson-speaking
Selected writing by Kristinsson
Kristinsson, Eldur Smári (March 8, 2023). Introducing Samtökin 22. The Glinner Update https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/introducing-samtokin-22
Media
Peter Boghossian with Eldur Smári Kristinsson, Adam B. Coleman, and Lisa Duval (October 23, 2025). Is Trans Ideology To Blame For Charlie Kirk’s Death? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CU_Y_p1SD4
Peter Boghossian with Adam B. Coleman, James Linehan, Lisa Duval, and Eldur Smári Kristinsson (October 8, 2025). Is Transgenderism ENTIRELY a Culture-Bound Phenomenon?
Nútíminn with Eldur Smári Kristinsson (October 8, 2025). Eldur Smári, viðtal í hérðasdómi. [Eldur Smári, interview in the district court] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87eyyWVZrzw
Beyond Gender with Stella O’Malley, Bret Alderman, and Eldur Smári Kristinsson (July 28, 2025). The Gay Man Iceland Wants to Silence: Inside a “Gender Gilead” – Eldur Smári Kristinsson (#24). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JehJp033z4
Jack Jewell with Eldur Smári Kristinsson (May 2, 2025). I’m Facing 2 YEARS PRISON For Tweets About TRANS | Eldur Kristinsson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC9U7AxyJjE
Genspect (March 6, 2025). Vox Pop Conference Interview with Eldur Smári Kristinsson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66jpFr-MyuY
Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, and Eldur Smári Kristinsson (November 22, 2024). How the Gender Agenda Captured Iceland, with Eldur Smári Kristinsson | Ep 194. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txeA6f80cSs
Genspect with Eldur Smári Kristinsson (November 6, 2024). How Gender Ideology Transformed a Nation’s Values – Eldur Smári Kristinsson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGKBmtZUIJk
Brotkast / Fullorðins with Kidda Svarfdals and Eldur Smári Kristinsson (October 25, 2024). Fullorðins | S01E09 | Eldur Smári Kristinsson | Þátturinn í heild sinni. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boekCi0dLd0
Resources
Wikipedia (is.wikipedia.org)
- Samtökin 22 [in Icelandic]
- is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samt%C3%B6kin_22
LGB Samtokin (lgbsamtokin.is)
- original url samtokin.is [archive]
X/Twitter (x.com)
- justgayice
- samtokin22 [deleted]
GoFundMe (gofundme.com)
- Legal fund for Eldur
- gofundme.com/f/legal-fund-for-eldur
Facebook (facebook.com)