Iceland elects businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir as president

“With great honor comes great responsibility, and I take that responsibility seriously.”

Iceland, which has topped the global gender equality index for 14 consecutive years, has elected its first female president in 28 years. Halla Tomasdottir, 56, who won the presidential election on June 1 (local time), spoke with emotion outside her home in the capital, Reykjavik, on Sunday. This is only the second time Iceland has elected a female president, the first being in 1980, when the country elected the first democratically elected female president for the first time in the world.

Iceland's presidential election was the first in which the top three finishers were women, according to the Associated Press. Tomasdottir was elected to the four-year term as president with 34.3% of the vote, defeating former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, who received 25.2%, and Halla Hrund Logadottir. Voter turnout in this year's presidential election was 78.83 percent, the highest since 1996.

President-elect Tomasdottir, who will take office in August, won significant support in this presidential race by focusing on social issues rather than political ones. She addressed various practical issues, such as social media's impact on youth's mental health, revitalizing tourism in Iceland, and the future of artificial intelligence (AI).

The president-elect is a businesswoman with a background in international business and economics. She co-founded Audur Capital, an Icelandic investment firm that survived the 2008 financial crisis and served as the first female head of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce. She is also the CEO of B Team, a non-profit organization promoting workplace diversity.

Iceland has had two female prime ministers in the 21st century. In Iceland's parliamentary cabinet system, the president plays a symbolic role as the defender of the constitution and national consensus, while the prime minister holds most of the real power.


Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com