The Ministry was formed in 2017, and the current Minister is Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir.
The Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs was the head of the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs, which existed between 1 January 1970 and 1 October 2009.
73/1969 took effect, ministries in Iceland had not existed separately from the ministers.
In cases where one person was responsible for both, he or she was titled Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs.
On 1 October 2009, the position became Minister of Justice and Human Rights (Icelandic: Dómsmála- og mannréttindaráðherra) and the ministry itself was renamed accordingly.