The President of Iceland (Icelandic: Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who became president in 2024.
The president is elected to a four-year term by popular vote, is not term-limited, and has limited powers. The presidential residence is in Bessastaðir in Garðabær, near the capital city Reykjavík.
List
There have been seven presidents since the creation of the republic.
Term: 1 appointed · 2 died in office · 3 uncontested
| Nº
|
President
|
Took office
|
Left office
|
Duration
|
Term
|
Prime ministers
|
| 1
|
|
Sveinn Björnsson
(1881–1952)
|
17 June 1944
|
25 January 19522
|
7 years, 7 months, 8 days
(2,778 days)
|
1 (1944)1
|
Björn Þórðarson
Ólafur Thors
Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson
Ólafur Thors
Steingrímur Steinþórsson
|
| 2 (1945)3
|
| 3 (1949)3
|
| Regent of Iceland 1941–1944, later became the first president of Iceland. In 1950 considered forming a government that did not rely on parliamentary support after leaders of the parliamentary parties had reached an impasse. The only president to die in office; this led to a vacancy, the powers of the office being constitutionally vested jointly in the prime minister (Steingrímur Steinþórsson), the president of the Parliament (Jón Pálmason) and the president of the Supreme Court (Jón Ásbjörnsson).
|
| 2
|
|
Ásgeir Ásgeirsson
(1894–1972)
|
1 August 1952
|
31 July 1968
|
16 years
(5,844 days)
|
4 (1952)
|
Steingrímur Steinþórsson
Ólafur Thors
Hermann Jónasson
Emil Jónsson
Ólafur Thors
Bjarni Benediktsson
Ólafur Thors
Bjarni Benediktsson
|
| 5 (1956)3
|
| 6 (1960)3
|
| 7 (1964)3
|
| First president elected by popular vote.
|
| 3
|
|
Kristján Eldjárn
(1916–1982)
|
1 August 1968
|
31 July 1980
|
12 years
(4,383 days)
|
8 (1968)
|
Bjarni Benediktsson
Jóhann Hafstein
Ólafur Jóhannesson
Geir Hallgrímsson
Ólafur Jóhannesson
Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal
Gunnar Thoroddsen
|
| 9 (1972)3
|
| 10 (1976)3
|
| At one point considered forming a government that did not rely on parliamentary support after leaders of the parliamentary parties had reached an impasse.
|
| 4
|
|
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
(born 1930)
|
1 August 1980
|
31 July 1996
|
16 years
(5,844 days)
|
11 (1980)
|
Gunnar Thoroddsen
Steingrímur Hermannsson
Þorsteinn Pálsson
Steingrímur Hermannsson
Davíð Oddsson
|
| 12 (1984)3
|
| 13 (1988)
|
| 14 (1992)3
|
| Was the world's first elected female president. Won first term in office with the lowest historical share of the votes for a first-term election (33.79%) but overwhelmingly won her third-term election in 1988.
|
| 5
|
|
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
(born 1943)
|
1 August 1996
|
31 July 2016
|
20 years
(7,305 days)
|
15 (1996)
|
Davíð Oddsson
Halldór Ásgrímsson
Geir Haarde
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson
|
| 16 (2000)3
|
| 17 (2004)
|
| 18 (2008)3
|
| 19 (2012)
|
| First to use the constitutional veto power under Article 26 to deny signing a law from the Parliament. Used it again on two occasions.
|
| 6
|
|
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson
(born 1968)
|
1 August 2016
|
31 July 2024
|
8 years, 140 days
(3062 days)
|
20 (2016)
|
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson
Bjarni Benediktsson
Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Bjarni Benediktsson
|
| 21 (2020)
|
| Overwhelmingly won his second-term election in 2020.
|
| 7
|
|
Halla Tómasdóttir
(born 1968)
|
1 August 2024
|
|
140 days
(140 days)
|
22 (2024)
|
Bjarni Benediktsson
|
| Won with the second lowest historical share of the votes for a first-term election (34.15%). This was her second attempt at a presidential run, the first one having been in 2016 where she came in second.
|
References
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