Halla Tómasdóttir to be sworn in as Iceland’s seventh president
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A feminist entrepreneur who started an investment fund with the musician Björk at the height of Iceland’s 2008 financial crisis and gave a TED talk on applying “feminine values” to finance is to become her country’s president on Thursday.
Halla Tómasdóttir won just more than 34% of the vote in elections in June, beating a crowded field that included Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who resigned as prime minister to run.
She will replace Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, who despite considerable popularity is stepping down after eight years in office.
Tómasdóttir was previously the chief executive of The B Team, a non-profit co-founded by Sir Richard Branson. She was also the head of Iceland’s chamber of commerce and co-founded the now defunct financial services company Auður Capital. She first ran for president eight years ago.
This time the 55-year-old campaigned on issues including artificial intelligence, tourism and the effect of social media on mental health. Afterwards, she said that people had “voted with their hearts”.
Tómasdóttir will become Iceland’s seventh president since the formation of the republic in 1944. She will be the second woman in the role after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who in 1980 became the world’s first democratically elected female president.
The inauguration will begin with a religious service at Reykjavík Cathedral followed by a ceremony in the Icelandic parliament next door, where Tómasdóttir will be sworn in before addressing the nation.
