Iceland
Iceland, 1944 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
During the occupation of Denmark in World War II, Iceland voted overwhelmingly to become a republic in 1944, ending its remaining formal ties to Denmark. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid after World War II brought prosperity, and Iceland became one of the world's wealthiest and most developed nations. The 1970s were marked by the Cod Wars, which were several disputes with the United Kingdom over Iceland's extension of its fishing limits to 200 nmi (370 km) offshore. In 1994 it became a part of the European Economic Area, further diversifying its economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing.
Seat of power: Reykjavík
Rulers
Sveinn Björnsson
President of Iceland, 1944–1952
Sveinn Björnsson was the first president of Iceland, serving from 1944 until his death in 1952.
Portrait of Sveinn Björnsson: Forseti.is, Public domain, file
Ásgeir Ásgeirsson
President of Iceland, 1952–1968
Ásgeir Ásgeirsson was the second president of Iceland; he served from 1952 to 1968. Ásgeir is the only person in Iceland to date to serve both as president and prime minister.
Portrait of Ásgeir Ásgeirsson: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Kristján Eldjárn
President of Iceland, 1968–1980
Kristján Eldjárn was the third president of Iceland, serving from 1968 to 1980. Between 1966 and 1968, he hosted a series of educational TV programs on the Icelandic National Television, in which he showed the audience some of the National Museum's artefacts and explained their historical context.
Portrait of Kristján Eldjárn: Forseti.is, Public domain, file
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Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
President of Iceland, 1980–1996
She was the president of Iceland 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.
Portrait of Vigdís Finnbogadóttir: Rob Croes for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, file
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Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
President of Iceland, 1996–2016
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was the fifth president of Iceland, serving from 1996 to 2016. He was previously a member of the Icelandic Parliament for the People's Alliance and served as Minister of Finance from 1988 to 1991.
Portrait of Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson: Premier.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0, file
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Guðni Jóhannesson
President of Iceland, 2016–2024
He served as the sixth president of Iceland from 2016 to 2024. His term was met with consistently high approval ratings, at levels unprecedented for any Icelandic president.
Portrait of Guðni Jóhannesson: Nebojša Tejić, Public domain, file
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Halla Tómasdóttir
President of Iceland, 2024 to today
She has served as president of Iceland since 2024. She is Iceland's second female president, after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.
Portrait of Halla Tómasdóttir: Published by the conference account on Flickr, photographer not named., CC BY 2.0, file
Culture
- Vigdís Finnbogadóttir assumed Iceland's presidency on 1 August 1980, making her the first elected female head of state in the world.
- Iceland hosted a summit in Reykjavík in 1986 between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, during which they took significant steps towards nuclear disarmament.
- Iceland became the first country to recognise the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as they broke away from the USSR.
- It has the smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one with no standing army, possessing only a lightly armed coast guard.
Picture
Hallgrímskirkja is the largest church in Iceland and the second tallest building in the country.
Image: Steinninn, CC BY 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.