Businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir elected Iceland’s President
Person in News
4 min read
Businesswoman and investor Halla Tomasdottir has been elected as Iceland's seventh President. She will be sworn in on 1 August 2024 and replace the incumbent president, Guana Johannesson. The President of Iceland has a term of four years.
Presidential election in Iceland
A presidential election was held in Iceland on 1 June 2024. The president is elected directly by the people. Iceland is a parliamentary democracy and the post of president is largely ceremonial. The real executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister, who heads the council of ministers.
The contest was mainly between businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir, former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, and Arctic and energy scholar Halla Hrund Logadottir.
Any eligible citizen of Iceland endorsed by at least 1500 voters can stand for the presidential election.
In the result declared, Tomasdottir won the election with 34.3 per cent of votes, defeating former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, who got 25.2 per cent of votes.
Women Dominate Iceland's Politics
Iceland, a European country with a population of about 3,80,000, has been dominated by women in politics. The first woman to be elected president in the world was from Iceland.
In 1980, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was elected as the first woman president and held the post for four consecutive terms until her retirement in 1996.
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became Iceland’s first woman prime minister and the world’s first openly gay head of government in 2019.
World’s Oldest Legislative Assembly
Iceland is a parliamentary democracy with a 63-member parliament called Althing. It is one of the oldest national parliaments in the world, established in 930 A.D. It is a unicameral legislature with a four-year term.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the world's first woman prime minister in 1960.
About Iceland
Iceland is an island country situated in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The country does not have a defence force, and it is a member of the United States-led military bloc, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Iceland is a Nordic country. The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural group in North Europe that includes Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland.
Capital: Reykjavik
Currency: Krona
Prime Minister :Katrín Jakobsdóttir
