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Guðni Th. Jóhannesson

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This is anIcelandic name.The last name ispatronymic,not afamily name;this person is referred to by the given nameGuðni.
His Excellency
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
Guðni in 2022
6thPresident of Iceland
Assumed office
1 August 2016
Prime MinisterSigurður Ingi Jóhannsson
Bjarni Benediktsson
Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Bjarni Benediktsson
Preceded byÓlafur Ragnar Grímsson
Succeeded byHalla Tómasdóttir(elect)
Personal details
Born
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson

(1968-06-26)26 June 1968(age 56)
Reykjavík,Iceland
Political partyIndependent
Spouse(s)
Elín Haraldsdóttir
​
​
(m.1995;div.1996)​

​
(m.2004)​
Children5
ResidenceBessastaðir
Alma materUniversity of Warwick(BA)
University of Iceland(MA)
St Antony's College, Oxford(MSt)
Queen Mary, University of London(PhD)

Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson(Icelandic pronunciation:[ˈkvʏðnɪˈtʰɔrlaˌsiʏsˈjouːhanɛsɔn]; born 26 June 1968)[1]is an Icelandic historian and politician who has served as the sixthpresident of Icelandsince 2016. He was elected to the presidency in2016with 39% of the vote and was reelected in2020with 92.2% of the vote.[2]On 1 January 2024, Guðni announced in his New Year's address to the Icelandic people that he would not stand for election again in2024.[3]

A historian, Guðni was aprofessorat theUniversity of Icelandbefore running for president in 2016. His field of research is modernIcelandic history,and he has published works on theCod Wars,the2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisisand the Icelandic presidency, among other topics.

Early life and education[edit]

Guðni is the son of teacher and journalist Margrét Thorlacius and sports instructor Jóhannes Sæmundsson.[4]His brotherPatrekur Jóhannessonis a former Icelandichandballnational teamplayer.[4]Guðni played handball in his youth, in both Iceland and theUK.[4][5]

Guðni graduated fromMenntaskólinn í Reykjavík(MR), a junior college in central Reykjavík, in 1987. While at MR, he competed inGettu betur,an Icelandic team quiz show for junior college students.[6]He earned abachelor's degreein history and political science from theUniversity of Warwickin England in 1991 and aMaster of Artsin history from theUniversity of Icelandin 1997. He has also studied German and Russian at university level.[4]In 1999, he completed anMStdegree in history atSt Antony's Collegeat theUniversity of Oxford.[1]In 2003, he received aPhDin history fromQueen Mary, University of London.[7]

In 2024, he was granted an honorary doctorate at theUniversity of Oulu.

Career[edit]

Guðni has worked as a lecturer at theUniversity of Iceland,Bifröst UniversityandUniversity of London.[1]At the time of his presidential candidacy he worked as asenior lecturerin history at the University of Iceland. His field of research is modernIcelandic history,in which he has published a number of works, including on theCod Wars,the2008–11 Icelandic financial crisisand the Icelandic presidency. He has written a biography ofGunnar Thoroddsenand a book aboutKristján Eldjárn's presidency.[1]Between 1992 and 1997, he translated four works byStephen Kinginto Icelandic.[8]From 2011 to 2015, Guðni was president ofSögufélag,the Icelandic historical society.[9]

Presidential candidacy[edit]

Guðni at an event at Árbæjarsafnið in 2021.

Guðni decided to stand for president on 5 May 2016. Before his candidacy, he had appeared frequently on live television to provide commentary and historical context in the wake of the publication of thePanama Papers,which created a scandal for Icelandic prime ministerSigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugssonand ultimately led to his ouster.[10]A scholar of the Icelandic presidency, Guðni delineated on live television the options available to incumbent president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and other Icelandic political actors.[10]After his television appearances, there were calls for Guðni to run for the presidency himself.[10]

His platform included support for a citizen initiative referendum provision in the Constitution.[11]Early polls showed significant support,[12]and following incumbent presidentÓlafur Ragnar Grímsson's decision to drop out of the race Guðni saw an increase in popularity reflected in various polls, which ranked him first with 67% to 69%, far ahead of other contenders.[13]Guðni was elected on 25 June after receiving apluralityof 39.1% of the vote.[14]

Guðni was unaffiliated with any of Iceland's political parties.[15]He said he would be a "less political president" than his predecessor due to a lack of partisanship.[15]Guðni has emphasized the importance of unity for the small nation.[15]

President of Iceland[edit]

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson meeting withFirst Minister of Scotland,Humza Yousaf,atBute HouseinEdinburgh,2024

Guðni took office as President of Iceland on 1 August 2016[16]after winning the most votes inthat year's election,71,356 (39.1%). At 48, he was Iceland's youngest president.[15]Roughly one month into his term, Guðni had approval ratings of 68.6% in an MMR survey, the highest approval rating this pollster has measured for an Icelandic president since its establishment in 2011.[17][18]Early in his term, Guðni had to oversee negotiations to form a government in Iceland in the wake of the2016 Icelandic parliamentary electionon 29 October.[19]These negotiations were difficult, as no pre-election coalition had a majority, and all possible majority coalitions had parties with highly divergent policy positions.[19][20][21][22][23]In December 2016, Guðni had approval ratings of 97%.[24]Such high approval ratings for Icelandic politicians are without precedent.[25]In April 2019, his approval rating was 93.5% among those who took a position in a survey.[10]

Guðni attracted international attention in February 2017 when he jokingly vowed to banpineapple as a pizza topping.[26]

Personal life[edit]

Religious beliefs[edit]

Guðni stands outside organized religion, but was raised in theCatholicfaith. He left theCatholic Churchdue to its delayed and muted response to reports of criminal abuses by priests.[1][27][28]His credo is theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights,"human beings are born free, equal in dignity and rights. Humans are endowed with reason and conscience and should act in the spirit of brotherhood towards each other."[1][27][28]

Family[edit]

Guðni is the son of the teacher and journalist Margrét Thorlacius and the physical education teacher and coach Jóhannes Sæmundsson. His father died of cancer at age 42. He has two brothers,Patrekur(a formerIcelandic men's national handball teamplayer, who is coach of theAustria men's national handball teamand father of rapperJóiPé)[29]and Jóhannes, who is asystems analyst.[1]

Guðni marriedCanadianEliza Jean Reidin 2004 and they have four children.[30]The couple, who met while studying in theUnited Kingdom,moved to Iceland in 2003.[30]Reid becameFirst Lady of Icelandwhen her husband was sworn into office.[30]Guðni also has a daughter from a previous marriage.[citation needed]

Publications[edit]

Guðni has authored many books on historical topics. On 1 September 2022 he presented a book about the IcelandicCod Warswith theUnited Kingdom,Stund milli stríða. Saga landhelgismálsins, 1961–1971(A Lull in the Cod Wars. Iceland and its Territorial Waters 1961–1971) on the 50th anniversary of the 1972 skirmish.[31]

A selection of other important books published by Guðni:

  • Gunnar Thoroddsen – Ævisaga,(a biography of a former prime minister of Iceland,Gunnar Thoroddsen), 2010,Bókabúð Forlagið.
  • Hrunið: Ísland á barmi gjaldþrots og upplausnar,The Collapse: Iceland on the Verge of Bankruptcy and Dissolution, (a book about the financial crisis 2008), 2009,Bókabúð Forlagið.
  • Óvinir Ríksins,Enemies of the State, (a book about secret observation of supposed threats to inner security after Iceland joinedNATOin 1949 and the U.S. established anair base near Keflavíkin 1951), 2006,Bókabúð Forlagið.The book was nominated for the Icelandic Book Prize 2006.

Honours[edit]

National Honours[edit]

Foreign Honours[edit]

Ancestry[edit]

Guðni is distantly related to former US presidentBarack Obama:they are 24th cousins 8 timesremoved.[37]The connection is through Obama's Scottish ancestry,[37]but since almost all Icelanders can trace themselves to bishopGottskálk grimmi Nikulássonthey are all distantly related to Obama.[citation needed]Guðni also shares ancestry with former US presidentDonald Trumpthrough their descent fromHaakon V of Norway.[38]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Kári í jötunmóð.Saga Íslenskrar erfðagreiningar og Kára Stefánssonar(Reykjavík: Nýja bókafélagið, 1999).
  • Völundarhús valdsins.Stjórnarmyndanir, stjórnarslit og staða forseta Íslands í embættistíð Kristjáns Eldjárns, 1968–1980(Reykjavík: Mál og menning, 2005).
  • Óvinir ríkisins.Ógnir og innra öryggi í kalda stríðinu á Íslandi(Reykjavík: Mál og menning, 2006).
  • Þorskastríðin þrjú.Saga landhelgismálsins 1948–1976(Reykjavík: Hafréttarstofnun Íslands, 2006).
  • Hrunið.Ísland á barmi gjaldþrots og upplausnar(Reykjavík: JPV, 2009)
  • Gunnar Thoroddsen.Ævisaga.(Reykjavík: JPV, 2010)
  • Fyrstu forsetarnir.(Reykjavík: Sögufélag, 2016)

Guðni has translated fourStephen King booksinto Icelandic.[39]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefgGuðmundsson, Hjörtur J. (3 May 2016)."Hver er þessi Guðni Th.?".Morgunblaðið(in Icelandic).Retrieved15 May2016.
  2. ^"Næst stærsti kosningasigur frá upphafi".RÚV.28 June 2020.Retrieved28 June2020.
  3. ^"Guðni býður sig ekki fram á ný - RÚV.is".January 2024.
  4. ^abcd"Breaking: Iceland elects new President".Retrieved28 June2016.
  5. ^"Lamdi bróður sinn og nennir ekki að djamma: Öll litlu atriðin sem þú þarft að vita um Guðna en skipta kannski mestu máli - DV"(in Icelandic). 26 June 2016.Retrieved28 June2016.
  6. ^"Hver er Guðni Th?".Stundin.2 August 2016.Retrieved6 May2019.
  7. ^"Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Ferilskrá"(PDF).Ugla (University of Iceland)(in Icelandic).Retrieved15 May2016.
  8. ^"Curriculum Vitae"(PDF; 166 KB).University of Iceland.Retrieved21 February2017.
  9. ^""Forsetar Sögufélags"".Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2019.Retrieved25 June2019.
  10. ^abcd"Forsetinn sem varð til í beinni útsendingu á RÚV og þjóðin elskar".Kjarninn(in Icelandic). 18 April 2019.Retrieved24 April2019.
  11. ^"Guðni lýsir yfir framboði".RÚV(in Icelandic). 5 May 2016.Retrieved15 May2016.
  12. ^"Ólafur með 45% en Guðni 38%".Morgunblaðið(in Icelandic). 5 May 2016.Retrieved15 May2016.
  13. ^Fontaine, Paul (11 May 2016)."Guðni Surges Ahead In New Presidential Election Poll".The Reykjavík Grapevine.Retrieved15 May2016.
  14. ^"Lokatölur komnar úr öllum kjördæmum".26 June 2016.Retrieved26 June2016.
  15. ^abcdMilne, Richard; Correspondent, Nordic (26 June 2016)."Iceland elects university historian as president".Financial Times.ISSN0307-1766.Retrieved26 June2016.
  16. ^"Political Novice Elected Iceland President Amid Football Fever".NDTV.com.Agence France-Presse.26 June 2016.Retrieved26 June2016.
  17. ^MMR."Ánægja með störf forseta ekki mælst hærri".Retrieved5 September2016.
  18. ^"Aldrei mælst meiri ánægja með störf forseta | Kjarninn"(in Icelandic). 5 September 2016.Retrieved5 September2016.
  19. ^ab"Iceland's Pirate party invited to form government".The Guardian.Agence France-Presse. 2 December 2016.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved19 December2016.
  20. ^"Vísir - Skattamálin áhyggjuefni í viðræðunum".visir.is.Retrieved19 December2016.
  21. ^"Katrín búin að hitta Guðna".RÚV.24 November 2016.Retrieved19 December2016.
  22. ^"Vísir - Undirliggjandi vantraust og óvissa skapar erfiðleika við myndun ríkisstjórnar".visir.is.Retrieved19 December2016.
  23. ^"Negotiations on historic five party coalition, led by Left-greens, go well according to Pirate Party leader".Icelandmag.Retrieved19 December2016.
  24. ^"97 prósent ánægð með Guðna".RÚV.18 December 2016.Retrieved19 December2016.
  25. ^"Vísir - Vinsældir forseta í tölu sem sést eiginlega aldrei segir prófessor".visir.is.Retrieved20 December2016.
  26. ^"Profile in Courage: Iceland's President Denounces Pineapple As a Pizza Topping".Foreign Policy.21 February 2017.Retrieved21 February2017.
  27. ^abJóhannesson, Guðni Th."Guðni Th. Jóhannesson".Archived fromthe originalon 29 May 2016.
  28. ^abHringbraut."Guðni Th sagði sig úr kaþólsku kirkjunni".Archived fromthe originalon 5 June 2016.Retrieved3 July2016.
  29. ^"Litli frændi forsetans kveikir í internetinu".Vísir.is.9 July 2017.Retrieved17 January2020.
  30. ^abc"Meet Iceland's new first lady: Canadian Eliza Reid".Maclean's(The Canadian Press).26 June 2016.
  31. ^"Forsetinn sendir frá sér bók á afmælisdegi 50 mílnanna".1 September 2022.
  32. ^Senest tildelte ordenerArchived17 March 2018 at theWayback Machine.The Danish Monarchy.Retrieved 6 May 2018
  33. ^Islannin presidentti Jóhannesson presidentti Niinistön vieraana: Yhteisiä tavoitteita Arktisessa neuvostossaArchived23 February 2018 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved 22 February 2018
  34. ^"Foto un video arhīvs | Latvijas Valsts prezidenta mājaslapa".Archived fromthe originalon 15 May 2019.Retrieved21 November2018.
  35. ^Royal Court
  36. ^Statsbesök från Island – dag 1Archived26 April 2019 at theWayback Machine.Swedish royal family.Retrieved 26 January 2018
  37. ^ab"Geta tengt sig við Bandaríkjaforseta".Morgunblaðið.29 November 2016. p. 10 – viaTímarit.is.
  38. ^"Donald Trump is related to most Icelanders and Danish and Royalty"[permanent dead link],Morgunblaðið,Tue 24 Jan 2017
  39. ^"Iceland historian Johannesson tipped to be voted president".BBC News.25 June 2016.Retrieved25 June2016.
Political offices
Preceded by President of Iceland
2016–present 		Incumbent
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