Halla Tómasdóttir

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Halla.

Her Excellency
Halla Tómasdóttir
Headshot of Tómasdóttir giving a presentation
Halla in 2024
7th President of Iceland
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 August 2024
Prime MinisterBjarni Benediktsson
Kristrún Frostadóttir
Preceded byGuðni Th. Jóhannesson
Personal details
Born (1968-10-11) 11 October 1968
Reykjavík, Iceland
Political partyIndependent
SpouseBjörn Skúlason
Children2
Alma materAuburn University at Montgomery (BBA)
Thunderbird School of Global Management (MBA)
AwardsCartier Women's Initiative Awards[1]

Halla Tómasdóttir[a] (born 11 October 1968) is an Icelandic businesswoman and politician serving as president of Iceland since 2024. She is Iceland's second female president, after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. Before becoming president, Halla was a public speaker and the chief executive of The B Team, a global nonprofit group.

Early life and education

Halla graduated from Verzlunarskóli Íslands in 1986, and afterwards moved to the United States as an international student, where she attended Evansville Central High School and graduated from Auburn University at Montgomery with a bachelor's degree in business administration, with a focus on management and human resources, in 1993.[2][3] She received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University in 1995.[4]

Early career

Halla is a former member of the founding team of Reykjavík University in 1998. She also co-founded Auður Capital, an investment firm.[5] She served as the chief executive of The B Team, a global nonprofit group of business and civil society leaders working to promote business practices focused on humanity and the climate.[6]

2016 presidential campaign

Halla announced her candidacy for the presidency of Iceland on 17 March 2016.[7] She received 27.9% of the vote, the second-highest share after that of the winner, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, who received 39.1%.[8]

2024 presidential campaign

Halla announced her candidacy for the presidency of Iceland on 17 March 2024.[9] Her campaign focused on issues such as the effects of social media on the mental health of youth, tourism development, and the role of artificial intelligence.

In the campaign, Halla declared herself opposed to Iceland’s participation in arms purchases for Ukraine,[10] which has been resisting a Russian invasion of the country since 2022. Her stance led to criticism from Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who called it an “arrogant attitude” to condition support for Ukraine on them not buying what they most need.[11]

On 1 June 2024, Halla was elected with 73,182 votes and received 34.1% of the popular vote,[12] defeating former prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir by a roughly 10-point margin.[13]

Presidency (2024–present)

Halla assumed the office of President of Iceland from Guðni Th. Jóhannesson on August 1, 2024. She is the seventh president of Iceland and the second woman to hold the position.[14] In September 2024, it was reported that only 45% of Icelanders were satisfied with her performance as president, the lowest approval rating for a sitting president in a poll.[15]

Halla made her first official visit to Denmark in October 2024. It was notable that she spoke English with King Frederik and delivered a speech in Christiansborg, the first Icelandic president to do so in English.[16]

Later in October, the government of Bjarni Benediktsson collapsed, and Halla held her first Council of State meeting at Bessastaðir, meeting with leaders of the outgoing government parties (except the Left-Green Movement).[17]

Personal life

Halla was born in Reykjavík. She is married to Björn Skúlason.[18] They have two children. Halla's parents are Tómas Björn Þórhallsson, a plumber, and Kristjana Sigurðardóttir, a social educator.

Honours

National honours

Foreign honours

External videos
video icon Halla Tomasdottir: A feminine response to Iceland's financial crash, TED (conference), 10:17, 2010[20]
video icon It's time for women to run for office, TED (conference), 19:19, 2016[20]

Notes

  1. ^ Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈhatla ˈtʰouːmasˌtouhtɪr̥] ⓘ

References

  1. ^ "Audur Capital provides financial services based on women-friendly values". Cartier Women's Initiative. 2009. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  2. ^ Hólmfríður Gísladóttir (22 March 2024). "Þverneitar að hafa freistast til að fegra ferilskrána". Vísir.is (in Icelandic).
  3. ^ "Iceland has a new president. And she went to Evansville's Central High School". Courier and Press. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Mannabreytingar hjá Íslenska útvarpsfélaginu". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic): D12. 29 January 1998.
  5. ^ "Halla ætlar að bjóða sig fram". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 17 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Businesswoman Tomasdottir becomes Iceland's next president". France 24. 2 June 2024. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  7. ^ "New presidential candidate emerges in Iceland". Morgunblaðið. Iceland. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Guðni Jóhannesson wins Iceland's presidential election". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  9. ^ Hrólfsson, Ragnar Jón (17 March 2024). "Halla Tómasdóttir býður sig fram til forseta - RÚV.is". RÚV. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Fjármagnið svo lítið að það breytir engu". www.mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  11. ^ Sverrisson, Ólafur Björn (6 June 2024). "„Hrokafull afstaða" að skilyrða stuðning við Úkraínu". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  12. ^ RÚV, Fréttastofa (1 June 2024). "Kosningavakan: Halla Tómasdóttir verður forseti Íslands - RÚV.is". RÚV. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Election week: Halla Tómasdóttir will be the president of Iceland". RÚV. Iceland. 2 June 2024. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  14. ^ Jóhannsson, Róbert (1 August 2024). "Halla Tómasdóttir sjöundi forseti Íslands - RÚV.is". RÚV. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  15. ^ Hrólfsson, Ragnar Jón (27 September 2024). "Tæpur helmingur ánægður með störf Höllu Tómasdóttur - RÚV.is". RÚV. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  16. ^ Ragnarsson, Rafn Ágúst (10 October 2024). "Halla talar ensku við kónginn: „Ég held að það sé kannski nýi tíminn" - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  17. ^ Ómarsdóttir, Alma; Þórðarson, Oddur; Guðmundsdóttir, Ingibjörg Sara (17 October 2024). "Ríkisráðsfundur á Bessastöðum: Vinstri græn formlega hætt - RÚV.is". RÚV. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Halla átti kærasta þegar þau Björn hittust fyrst" (in Icelandic). mbl.is. 22 March 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Islands Præsident tildeles Elefantordenen". kongehuset.dk (in Danish). Monarchy of Denmark. 8 October 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Halla Tómasdóttir, Change catalyst". TED (conference). 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  21. ^ https://www.kongehuset.no/
  22. ^ ChristinZ [@ChristinsQueens] (6 May 2025). "Icelander President Halla Tómasdóttir appointed a Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim by King Carl XVI Gustaf" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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