President of Iceland
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| President of Iceland | |
| Image:Icelandic Presidential.svg Standard | |
| Incumbent: | |
|---|---|
| First president: | |
| Formation: | |
The President of Iceland (Icelandic: forseti Íslands) is Iceland's elected head of state. The president is elected to a four-year term by universal adult suffrage and has limited powers. The president is not the head of government; the Prime Minister of Iceland is the head of government. There have been five presidents since Iceland gained independence from Denmark in 1944. The incumbent is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who was re-elected in the 2004 presidential election, having been first elected in 1996.
The presidential residence is situated in Bessastaðir in Álftanes. 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 take over the power vested in 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.
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[edit] Presidents of Iceland
Since 1944, when the office was created, only five people held the seat of the President of Iceland. These are the following:[1]
| # | Name | Took office | Left office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sveinn Björnsson | 17 June 1944 | 25 January 1952 | He is the first President of Iceland and Regent of Iceland
He is also the only president to die in office |
| 2 | Ásgeir Ásgeirsson | 1 August 1952 | 1 August 1968 | He was the first Present of Iceland elected by the populace. |
| 3 | Kristján Eldjárn | 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 | 1 August 1980 | 1 August 1996 | She was the world's first elected female president and overwhelmingly won a contested election in 1988. |
| 5 | Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson | 1 August 1996 | Present | Ólafur is the first president to use the authorization to veto a law from Alþingi |
[edit] Latest election
| Candidates | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson | 90,662 | 85.6 |
| Baldur Ágústsson | 13,250 | 12.3 |
| Ástþór Magnússon | 2,001 | 1.9 |
| Total valid votes (turnout 63.0%) | 105,913 | 100.0 |
| Empty ballots | 27,627 | 23.3% |
| Void votes | 834 | |
| Source: ruv.is | ||
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
da:Islands præsidenter de:Präsident von Island et:Islandi riigipeade loend es:Presidente de Islandia fr:Présidents d'Islande ga:Uachtarán na hÍoslainne id:Daftar presiden Islandia is:Forseti Íslands it:Presidenti dell'Islanda nl:President van IJsland ja:アイスランドの大統領 no:Liste over Islands presidenter pl:Prezydenci Islandii pt:Anexo:Lista de presidentes da Islândia ro:Preşedinte al Islandei ru:Президент Исландии sv:Lista över Islands presidenter zh:冰岛总统列表
