Iceland education minister quits over her past affair with teen

REYKJAVIK: Iceland's minister for education and children's affairs, Asthildur Loa Thorsdottir, has stepped down after revealing a past relationship with a 15-year-old boy she mentored three decades ago, which resulted in the birth of a child.

In an interview with Icelandic news outlet Visir, the 58-year-old politician shared that the relationship began when she was 22 and working as a counsellor at a support group. At the time, the boy, Eirk Asmundsson, was 15, and their relationship led to the birth of a child when Asmundsson was 16 and Thorsdottir was 23.

The revelation caused a stir, especially after Asmundsson accused her of preventing him from having access to their child despite paying child support for 18 years. Asmundsson said that although he was present at the birth and spent the child's first year together with them, his requests for visitation rights were repeatedly denied. In Iceland, it is illegal for an adult in a position of authority, such as a mentor or teacher, to engage in a sexual relationship with a minor.