The President of Iceland is Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

's elected head of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

. The president is elected to a four-year term by universal adult suffrage

Suffrage

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...

 and has limited powers. The president is not the head of government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

; the Prime Minister of Iceland

Prime Minister of Iceland

The Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support....

 is the head of government. There have been five presidents since Iceland became independent from Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 in 1944. The incumbent is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fifth and current President of Iceland. He has served as President since 1996; he was unopposed in 2000, re-elected for a third term in 2004, and re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in 2008. He is the longest-serving left-wing president in the history of...

, who is now in his fourth term as president, first elected in 1996, and returned unopposed

Icelandic presidential election, 2008

An election for the office of President of Iceland was planned to be held in Iceland on 28 June 2008. The incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, first elected in 1996, stated in his New Year's speech that he would contest the election for a fourth term. Ástþór Magnússon, who ran unsuccessfully in 1996...

 in 2008.

The presidential residence is situated in Bessastaðir

Bessastaðir

Bessastaðir is today the official residence of the President of Iceland and is situated on Álftanes, not far from the capital city, Reykjavík.- History :...

in Álftanes

Álftanes

Álftanes is a town, municipality and low-lying peninsula which extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes, located in Iceland's Greater Reykjavík Area....

, near the capital city Reykjavik. The nation's constitution specifies that when the president cannot perform the duties of the office, such as when he or she is abroad or under anesthesia, the prime minister, the president of the Althingi (Parliament), and the president of the Supreme Court collectively assume the power of the office. The three vote on any presidential decisions that must be made during that time. The president is also the designated Grand Master of the Order of the Falcon

Order of the Falcon

The Order of the Falcon or Hin íslenska fálkaorða is a national Order of Iceland, established on July 3, 1921 by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland.-History and appointments:...

.

Presidents of Iceland

The President is elected every four years. Elections in brackets indicate that the President was elected unopposed: no opposing candidate contested the election.

Since 1944, when the office was created, only five people have had the position of President of Iceland. These are the following:

#	Portrait	Name	Elected	Took office	Left office
1		Sveinn Björnsson Sveinn Björnsson Sveinn Björnsson , son of Björn Jónsson and Elísabet Sveinsdóttir, was the first President of the Republic of Iceland.He became a member of Reykjavík town council in 1912 and was its president during 1918–1920....	—	17 June 1944	25 January 1952
		Regent of Iceland 1941–1944. First President. 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 in the Prime Minister, the President of Parliament and the President of the Supreme Court jointly.
2		Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Ásgeir Ásgeirsson was the second President of Iceland, from 1952 to 1968.Educated as a theologian, Ásgeir graduated with honours from the University of Iceland in Reykjavík in 1915, but was considered too young to be ordained as a minister. He married Dóra Þórhallsdóttir in 1917. Dóra was the...	1952 (1956) (1960) (1964)	1 August 1952	1 August 1968
		First President elected by popular vote.
3		Kristján Eldjárn Kristján Eldjárn Dr. Kristján Eldjárn was the third President of Iceland, from 1968 to 1980.His parents were Þórarinn Kr. Eldjárn, a teacher in Tjörn, and Sigrún Sigurhjartardóttir. He graduated in archaeology from the University of Copenhagen and taught at the University of Iceland...	1968 (1972) (1976)	1 August 1968	1 August 1980
		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 Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. In addition to being both Iceland's and Europe's first female president, she was the world's first democratically elected female head of state...	1980 (1984) 1988 (1992)	1 August 1980	1 August 1996
		Was the world's first elected female president and overwhelmingly won a contested election in 1988.
5		Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fifth and current President of Iceland. He has served as President since 1996; he was unopposed in 2000, re-elected for a third term in 2004, and re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in 2008. He is the longest-serving left-wing president in the history of...	1996 (2000) 2004 Icelandic presidential election, 2004 A presidential election was held in Iceland on Saturday, 26 June 2004.Traditionally, Icelandic presidential elections in which the incumbent president indicates a wish to obtain a new mandate are uncontested. The current president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, was first elected in 1996 with 40.9% of the... (2008 Icelandic presidential election, 2008 An election for the office of President of Iceland was planned to be held in Iceland on 28 June 2008. The incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, first elected in 1996, stated in his New Year's speech that he would contest the election for a fourth term. Ástþór Magnússon, who ran unsuccessfully in 1996... )	1 August 1996	Incumbent
		First president to use the authorization to force a national referendum Icelandic debt repayment referendum, 2010 The Icelandic loan guarantees referendum, also known as the Icesave referendum , was held in Iceland on 6 March 2010...  on a law from Alþingi.

Latest election

In his 2008 New Year's speech, President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson announced his desire to stand for a fourth term. No challenger to the incumbent president filed their nomination papers by the deadline on 25 May 2008, and consequently Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson won his fourth term uncontested.

External links

• Official website