Who is the president of Iceland?
Iceland's president is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who has been in office since 2016. He was re-elected for a second term in 2020.
The current president
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson has held the presidential office since August 2016. A trained historian, he was re-elected in 2020 for a second four-year term.
The role of the Icelandic president
In Iceland, the president exercises an essentially ceremonial role. The true executive power belongs to the Prime Minister and the government. The president represents the nation at official ceremonies and can veto laws, although this prerogative is rarely used.
Icelandic political system
Iceland functions as a parliamentary republic. The president is elected by universal direct suffrage for four years, renewable. The Icelandic Parliament, the Althing, is one of the oldest democratic assemblies in the world, founded in 930.