President of Iceland
The president of Iceland (Icelandic: Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who declined to run for a third term after being elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
President of Iceland
- Mr President (informal)
- His Excellency (diplomatic)
State Council of Iceland
Four years, renewable
17 June 1944
€289,000 annually[1]
forseti
forseti
Halla Tómasdóttir is president-elect after winning the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, and is scheduled to take office on 1 August.[2]
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir assumed Iceland's presidency on 1 August 1980, she made history as the first elected female head of state in the world.[3]
The president is elected to a four-year term by popular vote, is not term-limited, and has limited powers.
Historically, while first-term elections have often been hard-fought, an incumbent president who decides to run again for office has usually run unopposed, or they have won re-election with an overwhelming majority of the vote when opposed. The 2012 election was a notable exception to this, where incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson won with only 52.78% of the vote.
The presidential residence is situated in Bessastaðir in Garðabær, near the capital city Reykjavík.
Articles 4 and 5 of the constitution set the following qualifications for holding the presidency:
Succession[edit]
Articles 7 and 8 of the constitution state that when the president dies or is otherwise unable to perform their duties, such as when they are abroad or sick, the prime minister, the president of the Parliament and the president of the Supreme Court shall collectively assume the power of the office until the president can resume their duties or a new president has been elected. Their meetings are led by the president of the Parliament where they vote on any presidential decision.
If the office of the president becomes vacant because of death or resignation, a new president shall be elected by the general public to a four-year term ending on 1 August in the fourth year after the elections. Sveinn Björnsson remains the only president to die in office in 1952, triggering a presidential election one year ahead of schedule.
Removal[edit]
Article 11 of the constitution lays out the process by which the president can be removed from office. It states that the president does not bear responsibility for the actions of their government and that they can not be prosecuted without consent of the Parliament. A referendum instigated by the Parliament with 3/4 support must approve of their removal. Once the Parliament has approved of the referendum, the president must temporarily step aside until the results of the referendum are known. The referendum must be held within two months of the vote, and, should the removal be rejected by the people, then the Parliament must immediately be dissolved and a new general election held.
A removal from office has not occurred since the founding of the republic.