Annex: Presidents of Iceland

The President of Iceland (Icelandic: Forseti Íslands) is the Icelandic head of state with powers limited by the Prime Minister, who performs the role of head of government. From June 17, 1944 —when it gained its independence from Denmark— until now, Iceland has had five presidents; the first of them was Sveinn Björnsson, chosen by the Alþingi. The remaining heads of state were elected by universal suffrage with the possibility of re-election.

List of Icelandic Presidents

Name		Photo	Date of entry	Date of departure
1	Sveinn Björnsson		17 July 1944	25 January 1952
2	Asgeir Ásgeirsson		1 August 1952	1 August 1968
3	Kristján Eldjárn		1 August 1968	1 August 1980
4	Vigdís Finnbogadóttir		1 August 1980	1 August 1996
5	Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson		1 August 1996	1 August 2016
6	Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson		1 August 2016	Currently in charge

Timeline

Living former presidents

• 

  Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (92 years)
  1980-1996
  No current public office
• 

  Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (79 years)
  1996-2016
  No current public office