Presidential elections were held in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

on 1 June 2024. Incumbent president

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson (; born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician who served as the sixth president of Iceland from 2016 to 2024. A historian, Guðni was a professor at the University of Iceland before running for pr ...

announced that he would not seek a third term. Entrepreneur

Halla Tómasdóttir Halla Tómasdóttir (; born 11 October 1968) is an Icelandic former businesswoman and politician serving as the seventh president of Iceland since 2024. She is Iceland's second female president, after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. Halla was previousl ...

was elected as his successor, and took office on 1 August.

Background

The previous presidential elections on 27 June 2020 saw incumbent president

re-elected for a second four-year term with 92% of the vote, over Guðmundur Franklín Jónsson. The office of President is not term-limited; however, despite being eligible to serve a third term, Guðni announced in his New Year's address to the Icelandic people on 1 January 2024 that he would not stand for re-election again. Guðni got several challenge to run for re-election after he announce he will not seek re-election but he decided against it.

Electoral system

The

President of Iceland The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, bu ...

is directly elected by

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

, with a simple

plurality Plurality may refer to: Law and politics * Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority * Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...

of votes needed to win. Candidates must be Icelandic citizens and at least 35 years of age on election day. On election day polling stations opened at 09:00 and ran until 22:00.

Candidates

Prospective presidential candidates had until 26 April 2024 to collect more than 1,500 voter signatures to secure ballot access. Eighty candidates sought voter signatures by that date. The following individuals have received media attention for their potential candidacy for the position of president. On 29 April 2024, the National Electoral Commission announced which candidates had secured ballot access. Katrín Jakobsdóttir was seen as frontrunner in the election but Halla Tómasdóttir had a late surge to claim victory.

Confirmed candidates

Withdrew or failed to get ballot access

These candidates failed to collect enough signatures before the deadline expired. *Agnieszka Sokolowska, project manager at the Capital Region Fire Service. * Angela Snæfellsjökuls Rawlings, artist-researcher, on behalf of "Snæfellsjökul fyrir forseta", a geocultural intervention to nominate the non-human candidate

Snæfellsjökull Snæfellsjökull (, ''snow-fell glacier'') is a 700,000-year-old glacier-capped stratovolcano in western Iceland. It is situated on the westernmost part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Sometimes it may be seen from the city of Reykjavík over Faxa ...

. *Axel Pétur Axelsson,

conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

*Guðbergur Guðbergsson, real estate agent and former stunt man * Guðmundur Felix Grétarsson, former electrician and the world's first double-arm and shoulder transplant receiver * Húni Húnfjörð, business administrator, teacher and former basketball player *Kári Vilmundarson Hansen, disc jockey. Endorsement list declared invalid on 29 April. *Margrét Friðriksdóttir, editor. Withdrew on 28 March after seeking voter signatures for five days. *Sigríður Hrund Pétursdóttir, investor. Declared on 12 January and Withdrew on 26 April. *Tómas Logi Hallgrímsson, rescue worker. Declared on 5 January and withdrew on 20 March ''(endorsed Baldur Þórhallsson)''

Declined

Alma Möller Alma Dagbjört Möller (born 24 June 1961) is an Icelandic doctor and politician. On 1 April 2018 she became the first woman to serve as the Directorate of Health, Director of Health since the office was established in 1760. Since February 2020, ...

, Director of Health *

Andri Snær Magnason Andri Snær Magnason (born 14 July 1973) is an Icelandic writer. He has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, and essays. Andri is also a director and producer of three documentary films that have premiered in IDFA and CPH:DOX. His ...

, writer and a candidate in the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

Björgvin Páll Gústavsson Björgvin Páll Gústavsson (born 24 May 1985) is an Icelandic handball player that plays as a goalkeeper. Background Björgvin grew up in Kópavogur. He has two brothers, Axel Birgir, and Margeir Felix, and two sisters, Berglind Sif, and Hel ...

, handball player * Björn Zoëga, CEO

Karolinska University Hospital The Karolinska University Hospital () is a teaching hospital affiliated with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, with two major sites in the municipalities of Solna and Huddinge. The hospital network is the second largest in Sweden, after ...

* Dagur B. Eggertsson, former

Mayor of Reykjavík The post of Mayor of Reykjavík () was created in 1907 and advertised in 1908. Páll Einarsson and Knud Zimsen applied for the job and Páll got the position for a period of six years, at the end of which he did not wish to renew his tenure. Rather ...

* Guðmundur Franklín Jónsson, businessman and a candidate in the 2020 presidential election *

from 2016 to 2024 *Gylfi Þór Þorsteinsson, team manager of the

Icelandic Red Cross Icelandic Red Cross () has its headquarters in Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64� ...

's fundraising and promotion department *

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir (; born 31 December 1954) is an Icelandic politician from the Social Democratic Alliance who has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (2007–2009) and leader of the Alliance (2005–2009). She served as rep ...

, former leader of the

Social Democratic Alliance The Social Democratic Alliance (, ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Iceland, political party in Iceland. The party is positioned on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum and their ...

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

, and

Jakob Frímann Magnússon Jakob Frímann Magnússon (born 4 May 1953) is a Danish-born Icelandic composer, keyboard player, film director and producer. In Iceland he is best known as the keyboardist and one of the founders of the multiartistic band Stuðmenn, with which he ...

, musical artist and MP for the People’s Party ''(endorsed

Katrín Jakobsdóttir Katrín Jakobsdóttir (; born 1 February 1976) is an Icelandic former politician who served as the prime minister of Iceland from December 2017 to April 2024 and was a member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency from 2007 to 202 ...

)'' *Magnús Geir Þórðarson, artistic director of the

National Theatre of Iceland The National Theatre of Iceland (NTI) (, pronounced ) in Reykjavík, is the national theatre of Iceland. The theater, designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, was formally opened on 20 April 1950. Since 2020, the artistic director of The National Thea ...

Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson (born 26 September 1962), also known as Olaf Olafsson, is an Icelandic businessman and writer. He is best known for his tenure at Sony and his leadership in the creation of the PlayStation video game console. Personal ...

, businessman and writer *Páll Pálsson, real estate agent * Róbert Spanó, former President of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

Víðir Reynisson Víðir Reynisson (born 22 April 1967) is an Icelandic police officer and the chief superintendent of the Office of the National Commissioner of the Police. He is also the chief of security for the Football Association of Iceland. Early life V� ...

, police officer and the Chief superintendent of the Office of the National Commissioner of the Police *

Þorgrímur Þráinsson Þorgrímur Þráinsson (born 8 January 1959 in Reykjavík), is an Icelandic writer, motivational speaker and former footballer. He has been a spokesperson for health, humanity and justice. Writer Since 1989, Þorgrímur has written 38 books ...

, writer *

Þórólfur Guðnason Þórólfur Guðnason (born 28 October 1953) is an Icelandic doctor who served as the Chief Epidemiologist of the Icelandic Directorate of Health from 2015 to 2022. He was one of the lead members of the Iceland's Department of Civil Protection a ...

, doctor who serverd as the Chief Epidemiologist of the Icelandic Directorate of Health *

Þóra Arnórsdóttir Þóra is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Steinunn Þóra Árnadóttir (born 1977), Icelandic politician, former member of the Althing * Þóra Arnórsdóttir (born 1975), Icelandic documentary film maker *Elín Þóra Elíasd ...

, documentary film maker, media personality and a candidate in the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

Campaign issues

Presidential debates have featured Iceland's membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, military aid for Ukraine, the possible sale of the state energy firm

Landsvirkjun Landsvirkjun, () the National Power Company of Iceland, is Iceland's largest electricity generator. Landsvirkjun operates 21 power plants in Iceland concentrated on five main areas of operation. History Landsvirkjun was founded on 1 July 196 ...

and the use of

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

powers by the Presidency. Questions were also raised on whether Katrín Jakobsdóttir's background as a politician and prime minister would affect her tenure in office, to which she said that she "can rise above party politics". Halla Tómasdóttir ran her campaign on issues such as the effects of social media on the mental health of youth, tourism development and the role of artificial intelligence.

Opinion polls

Results

Reactions

After her victory was confirmed,

was congratulated by runner-up and former prime minister

After the election

Parliamentary election were held in Iceland roughly six months after the presidential election and two candidates

Jón Gnarr Jón Gnarr (; born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson on 2 January 1967) is an Icelanders, Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Mayor of Reykjavík, Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a member of the Althing for ...

and Halla Hrund Logadóttir were elected to

Alþingi The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (' thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what la ...

in the election and currently serves as MP. Arnar Þór Jónsson ran for Alþingi as well but he was not elected.

References

{{Icelandic elections

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

Presidential elections in Iceland