Hala Tomasdóttir is elected the next president of Iceland

Businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir (55 years old) will become the new president of Iceland. With more than 34% of the votes, she defeated former Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir (25.2%) and Hala Hrund Lugadottir (15.5%), the Associated Press news agency reported. The position of president in Iceland is largely ceremonial. Tomasdottir will take office on August 1. She succeeds Gudni Johansson. He has been president for nearly eight years and has not run for re-election.

Tomasdottir has presented himself as a candidate who transcends political parties and, according to Associated Press reports, expressed his intention as president to, among other things, stimulate debate about the impact of social media on young people’s mental health. It made a name for itself during the banking crisis of 2008-2012: while Icelandic financial institutions collapsed one after another, its investment office survived.

Tomasdóttir became the first female president of Iceland since Vigdis Finnbojadóttir. Her rise to power in 1980 was big news: she became the world’s first female president. Iceland has also had two female prime ministers, including Katrín Jakobsdóttir (48). She resigned from her position as Prime Minister this spring in order to participate in these presidential elections.

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