Prime Minister of Iceland
Head of government of Iceland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The prime minister of Iceland (Icelandic: Forsætisráðherra Íslands) is head of government of the country of Iceland. The prime minister is appointed formally by the president and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support.
Style
- Madam Prime Minister (informal)
- Her Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of
- State Council of Iceland
- Cabinet of Iceland
AppointerPresident
| Prime Minister of Iceland | |
|---|---|
| Forsætisráðherra Íslands (Icelandic) | |
| |
.svg) State flag of Iceland | |
| Prime Minister's Office | |
| Style |
|
| Member of |
|
| Seat | Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Appointer | President |
| Term length | No term limit |
| Constituting instrument |
|
| Precursor | Minister for Iceland |
| Inaugural holder | Hannes Hafstein (under Home Rule as Minister for Iceland) Jón Magnússon (under Kingdom of Iceland) |
| Formation | 1 February 1904 |
| Salary | 2,021,825 kr/US$ 14,038 monthly[1] |
| Website | eng forsaetisraduneyti |
Official title
The title of Iceland's head of government in Icelandic is forsætisráðherra. Translated, this means "minister-president"[a]. This is different from the heads of government of other Nordic states, whose official titles are literally translated as "minister of state" (statsminister). However, since "prime minister" or "premier" is the more usual title in a parliamentary system for a head of government in English-speaking nations, the title is translated as "prime minister" by most English sources.
Constitutional basis
The prime minister is appointed by the president under the Constitution of Iceland, Section II Article 17, and chairs the Cabinet of Iceland:
Locations
The prime minister's office is located in the Governing Council (Stjórnarráðið), Reykjavik, where their secretariat is based and where cabinet meetings are held.[4] The prime minister has a summer residence, Þingvallabær in Þingvellir. The prime minister also has a reception house in Tjarnargata, Reykjavik, which was the prime ministerial residence until 1943.[5]
Stjórnarráðið in Reykjavík, the Prime Minister's Office
Þingvallabær, the Prime Minister's summer residence
![Þingvallabær, the Prime Minister's summer residence](#/media/File:El_Antiguo_Parlamento_Parque_Nacional_de_"_Thingvellir_"_Islandia_(8621781601).jpg)
List of officeholders
Home Rule (1904–1918)
Despite Hannes Hafstein being a Minister for Iceland, he and his successors are considered to be the first Prime Ministers of Iceland by the national government.[6]
| No.[6] | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Term of office | Political party | Government | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 |  |
Hannes Hafstein (1861–1922) MP for Eyjafjarðarsýsla |
1 February 1904 | 31 March 1909 | 5 years, 58 days | Home Rule Party | Deuntzer Christensen I–II Neergaard I |
[7][8] [9][10] | |
| 2 |  |
Björn Jónsson (1846–1912) MP for Barðastrandarsýsla |
31 March 1909 | 14 March 1911 | 1 year, 348 days | Independence Party | Neergaard I Holstein-Ledreborg Zahle I Berntsen |
[10][11] [12][13] | |
| 3 |  |
Kristján Jónsson (1852–1926) MP for Borgarfjarðarsýsla |
14 March 1911 | 25 July 1912 | 1 year, 133 days | Independent | Berntsen | [13] | |
| (1) | |
Hannes Hafstein (1861–1922) MP for Eyjafjarðarsýsla |
25 July 1912 | 21 July 1914 | 1 year, 361 days | Union Party | Berntsen Zahle II |
[13][14] | |
| 4 |  |
Sigurður Eggerz (1875–1945) MP for West Skaftafellssýsla |
21 July 1914 | 4 May 1915 | 287 days | Independence Party | Zahle II | [14] | |
| 5 |  |
Einar Arnórsson (1880–1955) MP for Árnessýsla |
4 May 1915 | 4 January 1917 | 1 year, 245 days | Independence Party – Langsum | Zahle II | [14] | |
Kingdom (1918–1944)
Political party: Home Rule Independence Conservative Progressive Independent
| No.[6] | Portrait | Name (birth–death) Constituency |
Term of office | Party | Elected | Cabinet coalition |
Monarch (reign) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| 6 |  |
Jón Magnússon (1859–1926) MP for Reykjavík until 1920 not in Parliament from 1920 |
4 January 1917 | 7 March 1922 | 5 years, 62 days | Home Rule Party | Oct. 1916 |
Magnússon I HP–IP–PP |
Kristján X (1918–1944) | |
| 1919 | Magnússon II HP–others | |||||||||
| (4) | |
Sigurður Eggerz (1875–1945) MP without constituency |
7 March 1922 | 22 March 1924 | 2 years, 15 days | Independence Party | – | Eggerz IP–others | ||
| (6) | |
Jón Magnússon (1859–1926) MP without constituency |
22 March 1924 | 23 June 1926 # | 2 years, 93 days | Conservative Party | 1923 | Magnússon III CP | ||
| 7 |  |
Magnús Guðmundsson Acting (1879–1937) MP for Skagafjarðarsýsla |
23 June 1926 | 8 July 1926 | 15 days | Conservative Party CP |
– | |||
| 8 |  |
Jón Þorláksson (1877–1935) MP without constituency |
8 July 1926 | 28 August 1927 | 1 year, 51 days | Conservative Party | – | Þorláksson CP | ||
| 9 |  |
Tryggvi Þórhallsson (1889–1935) MP for Strandasýsla |
28 August 1927 | 3 June 1932 | 4 years, 280 days | Progressive Party | 1927 | Þórhallsson PP | ||
| 1931 | ||||||||||
| 10 |  |
Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (1894–1972) MP for West Ísafjarðarsýsla |
3 June 1932 | 28 July 1934 | 2 years, 55 days | Progressive Party | – | Ásgeirsson PP–IP–Peasants | ||
| 1933 | ||||||||||
| 11 |  |
Hermann Jónasson (1896–1976) MP for Strandasýsla |
28 July 1934 | 16 May 1942 | 7 years, 292 days | Progressive Party | 1934 | Jónasson I PP–SDP | ||
| 1937 | Jónasson II PP | |||||||||
| – | Jónasson III PP–IP–SDP | |||||||||
| – | Jónasson IV PP–IP–SDP |
Sveinn Björnsson (as Regent for Kristján X)  (1941–1944) | ||||||||
| 12 |  |
Ólafur Thors (1892–1964) MP for Gullbringu and Kjósarsýsla |
16 May 1942 | 16 December 1942 | 214 days | Independence Party | Jul. 1942 |
Thors I IP | ||
| Oct. 1942 | ||||||||||
| 13 |  |
Björn Þórðarson (1879–1963) Not in Parliament |
16 December 1942 | 21 October 1944 | 1 year, 310 days | Independent | – | Þórðarson | ||
Republic (1944–present)
Political party: Independence Progressive Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Alliance Left-Green
| No.[6] | Portrait | Name (birth–death) Constituency |
Term of office | Party | Elected | Cabinet coalition |
President(s) (term) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| (12) | |
Ólafur Thors (1892–1964) MP for Gullbringu and Kjósarsýsla |
21 October 1944 | 4 February 1947 | 2 years, 106 days | Independence Party | – | Thors II IP–SDP–SP |
Sveinn Björnsson (1944–1952) | |
| 1946 | ||||||||||
| 14 |  |
Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson (1894–1980) MP for Eyjafjarðarsýsla |
4 February 1947 | 6 December 1949 | 2 years, 305 days | Social Democratic Party | – | Stefánsson IP–SDP–SP | ||
| (12) | |
Ólafur Thors (1892–1964) MP for Gullbringu and Kjósarsýsla |
6 December 1949 | 14 March 1950 | 98 days | Independence Party | 1949 | Thors III IP | ||
| 15 |  |
Steingrímur Steinþórsson (1893–1966) MP for Skagafjarðarsýsla |
14 March 1950 | 11 September 1953 | 3 years, 181 days | Progressive Party | – | Steinþórsson PP–IP | ||
| (12) | |
Ólafur Thors (1892–1964) MP for Gullbringu and Kjósarsýsla |
11 September 1953 | 24 July 1956 | 2 years, 305 days | Independence Party | 1953 | Thors IV PP–IP |
Ásgeir Ásgeirsson _(cropped).jpg) (1952–1968) | |
| (11) | |
Hermann Jónasson (1896–1976) MP for Strandasýsla |
24 July 1956 | 23 December 1958 | 2 years, 164 days | Progressive Party | 1956 | Jónasson V PP–SDP–PA | ||
| 16 |  |
Emil Jónsson (1902–1986) MP for Hafnarfjörður |
23 December 1958 | 20 November 1959 | 332 days | Social Democratic Party | Jun. 1959 |
Jónsson SDP | ||
| (12) | |
Ólafur Thors (1892–1964) MP for Gullbringu and Kjósarsýsla |
20 November 1959 | 8 September 1961 | 1 year, 292 days | Independence Party | Oct. 1959 |
Thors V IP–SDP | ||
| – |  |
Bjarni Benediktsson (1908–1970) acting MP for Reykjavík |
8 September 1961 | 31 December 1961 | 114 days | Independence Party | – | |||
| (12) | |
Ólafur Thors (1892–1964) MP for Gullbringu and Kjósarsýsla |
1 January 1962 | 14 November 1963 | 1 year, 317 days | Independence Party | – | |||
| 17 | |
Bjarni Benediktsson (1908–1970) MP for Reykjavík |
14 November 1963 | 10 July 1970 # | 6 years, 238 days | Independence Party | 1963 | Benediktsson IP–SDP | ||
| 1967 | Kristján Eldjárn .jpg) (1968–1980) | |||||||||
| – |  |
Jóhann Hafstein (1915–1980) MP for Reykjavík |
10 July 1970 | 10 October 1970 | 92 days | Independence Party | – | Hafstein IP–SDP | ||
| 18 | 10 October 1970 | 14 July 1971 | 277 days | |||||||
| 19 | Ólafur Jóhannesson (1913–1984) MP for Northwestern |
14 July 1971 | 28 August 1974 | 3 years, 45 days | Progressive Party | 1971 | Jóhannesson I PP–PA–LL | |||
| 20 | .jpg) |
Geir Hallgrímsson (1925–1990) MP for Reykjavík |
28 August 1974 | 1 September 1978 | 4 years, 4 days | Independence Party | 1974 | Hallgrímsson IP–PP | ||
| (19) | Ólafur Jóhannesson (1913–1984) MP for Northwestern |
1 September 1978 | 15 October 1979 | 1 year, 44 days | Progressive Party | 1978 | Jóhannesson II PP–PA | |||
| 21 | Benedikt Gröndal (1924–2010) MP for Reykjavík |
15 October 1979 | 8 February 1980 | 116 days | Social Democratic Party | 1979 | Sigurðsson Gröndal SDP | |||
| 22 | Gunnar Thoroddsen (1910–1983) MP for Reykjavík |
8 February 1980 | 26 May 1983 | 3 years, 107 days | Independence Party (*Gunnar's faction) |
– | Thoroddsen IP*–PP–PA |
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir .jpg) (1980–1996) | ||
| 23 | .jpg) |
Steingrímur Hermannsson (1928–2010) MP for Westfjords |
26 May 1983 | 8 July 1987 | 4 years, 43 days | Progressive Party | 1983 | Hermannsson I PP–IP | ||
| 24 | .jpeg) |
Þorsteinn Pálsson (born 1947) MP for Southern |
8 July 1987 | 28 September 1988 | 1 year, 82 days | Independence Party | 1987 | Pálsson IP–PP–SDP | ||
| (23) | |
Steingrímur Hermannsson (1928–2010) MP for Reykjanes |
28 September 1988 | 30 April 1991 | 2 years, 214 days | Progressive Party | – | Hermannsson II PP–SDP–PA | ||
| – | Hermannsson III PP–SDP–PA–CiP | |||||||||
| 25 |  |
Davíð Oddsson (1948–2026) MP for Reykjavík until 2003 MP for Reykjavík North from 2003 |
30 April 1991 | 15 September 2004 | 13 years, 138 days | Independence Party | 1991 | Oddsson I IP–SDP | ||
| 1995 | Oddsson II IP–PP |
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson .jpeg) (1996–2016) | ||||||||
| 1999 | Oddsson III IP–PP | |||||||||
| 2003 | Oddsson IV IP–PP | |||||||||
| 26 |  |
Halldór Ásgrímsson (1947–2015) MP for Reykjavík North |
15 September 2004 | 15 June 2006 | 1 year, 273 days | Progressive Party | – | Ásgrímsson IP–PP | ||
| 27 | .png) |
Geir Haarde (born 1951) MP for Reykjavík South |
15 June 2006 | 1 February 2009 | 2 years, 231 days | Independence Party | – | Haarde I IP–PP | ||
| 2007 | Haarde II IP–SDA | |||||||||
| 28 |  |
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (born 1942) MP for Reykjavík North |
1 February 2009 | 23 May 2013 | 4 years, 111 days | Social Democratic Alliance | – | Sigurðardóttir I SDA–LGM | ||
| 2009 | Sigurðardóttir II SDA–LGM | |||||||||
| 29 |  |
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson (born 1975) MP for Northeast |
23 May 2013 | 7 April 2016 | 2 years, 319 days | Progressive Party | 2013 | Gunnlaugsson PP–IP | ||
| 30 |  |
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson (born 1962) MP for South |
7 April 2016 | 11 January 2017 | 280 days | Progressive Party | – | Jóhannsson PP–IP |
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson .jpg) (2016–2024) | |
| 31 |  |
Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1970) MP for Southwest |
11 January 2017 | 30 November 2017 | 323 days | Independence Party | 2016 | Benediktsson I IP–C–BF | ||
| 32 |  |
Katrín Jakobsdóttir (born 1976) MP for Reykjavík North |
30 November 2017 | 9 April 2024 | 6 years, 131 days | Left-Green Movement | 2017 | Jakobsdóttir I LGM–IP–PP | ||
| 2021 | Jakobsdóttir II LGM–IP–PP | |||||||||
| (31) | .jpg) |
Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1970) MP for Southwest |
9 April 2024 | 21 December 2024 | 256 days | Independence Party | – | Benediktsson II LGM–IP–PP |
Halla Tómasdóttir  (2024–present) | |
| 33 |  |
Kristrún Frostadóttir (born 1988) MP for Reykjavík South |
21 December 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 198 days | Social Democratic Alliance | 2024 | Frostadóttir SDA–RP–PP | ||
Timeline
See also
Notes
- The word forsætisráðherra is a combination of forsæti, which means "presidency", and ráðherra, which is the Icelandic term for "minister". The word forsæti is derived from the Icelandic term for "president", forseti, which means one who sits foremost (sá sem fremst situr) in Old Norse/Icelandic or literally fore-sitter, while the word ráðherra literally means lord of the council.