Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (; born 15 April 1930) is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth

president of Iceland The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, bu ...

from 1980 to 1996, the first woman to hold the position and the first in the world to be democratically elected president of a country. Having served for 16 years, she was also the longest-serving elected female head of state in history. Vigdís is a

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. UNESCO goodwill ambas ...

and a member of the Club of Madrid.

Early life and career

Vigdís was born on 15 April 1930 in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. Her father was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

, and her mother was a nurse who headed the national nurses association. The following year, her younger brother Þorvaldur was born; he did not survive to adulthood, as he drowned in Hreðavatn. Vigdís enrolled at the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

in 1949, later switching to the Sorbonne. She studied English and French literature, giving special emphasis to plays, and she graduated in 1953. Vigdís was married in 1954. The same year, she began acting, co-founding a theatre group. She also worked on the translation of several French plays. She enrolled at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1957, where she studied theatre history until the following year. She was divorced in 1963. Vigdís participated in the anti-military rallies that took place in the 1960s and 1970s, protesting the United States military presence in Iceland. Vigdís adopted a daughter in 1972, making her the first single woman in Iceland to adopt a child. Vigdís taught French lessons on television for

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 ...

beginning in 1972, making her a well known figure throughout the nation. In the same year, she was appointed the artistic director of the Reykjavík Theatre Company. She became a member of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs in the Nordic Countries in 1976, and the organisation's chair in 1978. She continued in all of these positions until she became

President of Iceland The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, bu ...

in 1980. Other jobs she held early in life included her work as a French teacher at several colleges, including at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...

, and her work as a tour guide with the Icelandic Tourist Bureau in the summers. She eventually became the head of the Icelandic Tourist Bureau.

Presidency (1980–1996)

Vigdís ran in the 1980 presidential election. During her campaign, her anti-military position and her opposition to a United States presence in Iceland led to allegations that she was sympathetic to communism. Vigdís ran for president to prove that women were able to lead political campaigns, and she did not expect to win. Despite this, Vigdís won the election on 29 June 1980. The vote was split among four candidates, and she prevailed with 33.6% of the vote. Vigdís was the first woman to ever be democratically elected as a

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

in any country, taking office on 1 August 1980 as the fourth president of Iceland. The number of women in the

Althing The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...

increased significantly after her election. Vigdís was re-elected without opposition in the 1984 presidential election. She oversaw the

Reykjavík Summit The Reykjavík Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit meeting between President of the United States, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in Reykjavík, Iceland, on ...

on 11–12 October 1986 between American president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and Soviet president

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, which is credited with improving relations between the countries and bringing the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

closer to an end. In the 1988 presidential election, Vigdís became the first incumbent president of Iceland to face a challenger in the presidential election. The challenger fared poorly, and Vigdís won with 92.7% of the vote. She was again re-elected without opposition in 1992. Though the Icelandic presidency is mostly ceremonial, Vigdís became an active president, using the role to represent the nation and to inform the national identity through cultural initiatives. Vigdís is an

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

, and used her presidency as a platform to advocate for environmental issues. She led a campaign for

reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

in Iceland, and called for the prevention of topsoil loss. Vigdís is also a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

, and she describes herself as a "peace person". She was also an advocate for

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

as president. The decision Vigdís considered "the most difficult episode" of her career took place in 1994 during the debate on joining the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...

. A strong opposition existed against

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

in Iceland, but Vigdís supported the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and

, and she refused to use her presidential

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

to block Iceland's association with the European Economic Area. Vigdís decided not to run for a fifth term as president, and her tenure ended in August 1996. She served for 16 years. To date, she is the longest-serving female elected head of state in recorded history. President Ronald Reagan walks with President Vigdis Finnbogadottir of Iceland

President Ronald Reagan walks with President Vigdis Finnbogadottir of Iceland

Post-presidency

Vigdís became the founding chair of the Council of Women World Leaders in 1996, and she was first chair of the World Commission on the Ethics in Scientific Knowledge and Technology from 1997 to 2001. Since 1998, Vigdís has served as

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's Goodwill Ambassador for languages. She is also a member of the Fondation Chirac's honour committee. Vigdís continued her peace advocacy after her tenure as president ended. In 2016, she expressed her desire for the United States and Russia to visit Iceland to resolve their differences through discussion as they did during the Reykjavík Summit. She has described the relations between the two countries as a new Cold War. Vigdís is a member of the Club of Madrid.

Honours

National honours

*: Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(1 August 1980)

Foreign honours

*: **

Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

(25 February 1981) *: ** Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar

Knight with Collar of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

(8 October 1981; collar 1987) *: ** St Olavs Orden storkors stripe

Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1982) *: ** FIN Order of the White Rose Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

(1982) *: **

Order of the Netherlands Lion ribbon - Knight Grand Cross

Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

(18 September 1985) *: ** Order of Charles III - Sash of Collar

Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

(11 September 1985) *: ** Order of the Bath UK ribbon

Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(25 June 1990)

Honorary degrees

* Université Bordeaux Montaigne, (former Université Bordeaux 3),

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(1987) * University of Trondheim,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

(1993)

References

External links