Páll Melsteð (March 31, 1791 – May 9, 1861) was an Icelandic official and politician.

He graduated from Bessastaðir School

Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík

Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík is the oldest gymnasium in Reykjavík, Iceland....

 in 1809 and from Copenhagen University with a degree in law in 1815. From 1815 to 1849 he served as a sýslumaður

Sýslumaður

Sýslumaður is an office or title created in Iceland when it submitted to the King of Norway in 1262-1264. This sort of office had already been established in Norway, called sysselmann in contemporary Norwegian...

 in various sýslur. In 1849 he became the amtmann

Amtmann

Amtmann can be :*a feudal, administrative and/or gubernatorial title, such as Bezirksamtmann . Amtmann, ammann and amman were a kind of bailiff in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in Brussels....

 of the Western Amt, an office he retained until his death. He was a member of the Althing

Althing

The Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...

 by royal appointment from 1847 until his death. He was also appointed by the king to the constitutional assembly of 1851.

He was the father of Páll Melsteð

Páll Melsteð (historian)

Páll Melsteð was an Icelandic historian, editor and member of the Althing. In 1892 he was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog.-Early life:...

the historian.