Jan Aksel Harder Klitgaard has been appointed the new director of the Whale Museum in Húsavík, and he will take over the job from the beginning of the year.
A total of 20 people applied for the position, from all over the country, of which five candidates were invited for interviews.
Jan Aksel was born in 1965 in Denmark. He graduated from high school in Frederikssund and studied horticultural production and horticultural technology from Tekniske Skole in Vilvorde, Denmark. He has also completed various courses, such as in nature conservation and land management. Since 2009, Jan Aksel has worked as a gardening manager for the municipality of Norðurþing. Jan is studying for a BA degree in ethnography and anthropology at the University of Iceland and will complete it in the spring of 2015.
Jan Aksel is very interested in museum work and how knowledge is communicated to the public about man and the environment and the relationship between them in the broadest possible way. For years, he took an active part in the discussion of the museum's employees about its operation, philosophy and future vision.
Jan Aksel is married to Sigríða Valdísa Sæbjörnsdóttir, the preschool director's daughter. He has 3 children from his previous marriage and two stepchildren, the children are all between the ages of 10-20.
The management and staff of the museum welcome Jan to work, with the hope of a good cooperation.
