Halla Tómasdóttir Elected President Of Iceland

Halla Tómasdóttir will become the seventh President of Iceland. She will take over for outgoing president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson on August 1.

Voter turnout for Saturday’s election was 78.83% and has not been higher in a presidential election since 1996, reports RÚV. Halla received 34.3% (or 65,669) of the vote to secure a victory over fellow front-runner Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who got 25.2%.

“I want to congratulate her and I know she’ll be a good president,” said Katrín, conceding defeat.

Halla Tómasdóttir will be the second woman to serve as president in Iceland. The first was Iceland’s fourth president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who held office from 1980 to 1996. Vigdís was the first woman in the world to be elected as president.

Who is Halla Tómasdóttir?

Prior to running for president, Halla, 55, was serving as CEO of The B Team, an international non-profit advocating for business practices aimed at equality and the wellbeing of the planet. She also ran for president in 2016, but was defeated by president Guðni Th.

The Grapevine’s surveyed Halla on her presidential aspirations for our May 3 issue. Here’s what she had to say.