Gísli Marteinn Baldursson (born 26 February 1972) is an Icelandic

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people who garnered fam ...

and a former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He is known for hosting the talk shows ''Laugardagskvöld með Gísla Marteini'' and ''Vikan með Gísla Marteini'' as well as the broadcasts of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. He is referenced briefly in the lyrics of " Róa", a song by the electronic duo Væb, which represented

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.

Early life

Gísli grew up in Hólar in

Breiðholt Breiðholt () is a southeastern district of Reykjavík, Iceland. It includes three neighbourhoods: ''Neðra-Breiðholt'' (Bakkar , Mjódd and Stekkir ), ''Efra-Breiðholt'' (Hólar , Berg and Fell ) and ''Seljahverfi'' (Sel ). It is one of th ...

where he lived until his twenties when he moved to Vesturbær.

Television career

Gísli Marteinn started working at

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization. Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...

in 1997, first as a journalist and later as a programmer. He was the initiator of the show Kastljós in 2000. In 2002, he started hosting the

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

''Laugardagskvöld með Gísla Marteini''. In 2003, he won the Edda Award for Best Television Personality. In 2013 he hosted the show ''Sunnudagsmorgun''. He provided commentary for the broadcasts of the

from 1999 to 2005 and again from 2016 to 2023. He declined to provide commentary in 2024 due Israel's advance on Gaza, and the lack of reaction from the contest organisers.

Political career

Gísli Marteinn was a city representative for the Independence Party in the

Reykjavík City Council The Reykjavík City Council ( Icelandic: ''Borgarstjórn Reykjavíkur'') is the local council for Reykjavík, the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is composed of 23 members elected by proportional representation for a 4-year term The Cou ...

from 2005 to 2013. He was previously a deputy representative from 2003 to 2005. He left politics in 2013 and returned to television.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldursson, Gísli Marteinn 1972 births Living people Gisli Marteinn Baldursson Gisli Marteinn Baldursson Gisli Marteinn Baldursson