Halla Tómasdóttir

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Halla Tómasdóttir
President-elect of Iceland
Assuming office
1 August 2024
Prime MinisterBjarni Benediktsson
SucceedingGuðni Th. Jóhannesson
Personal details
Born (1968-10-11) 11 October 1968 (age 55)
Reykjavík, Iceland
Political partyIndependent
SpouseBjörn Skúlason[1]
Alma materVerzló (1986)
AwardsCartier Women's Initiative Awards[2]

Halla Tómasdóttir (born 11 October 1968) is the President-elect of Iceland, as well as a businessperson and public speaker. She is a former member of the founding team of Reykjavík University in 1998. Halla also co-founded Auður Capital, an investment firm.[3] She is also the chief executive of the multinational non-profit organisation B Team focusing on the promotion of workplace diversity.[4]

Halla had previously announced her candidature for the presidency of Iceland on 17 March 2016.[5] She received 27.9% of the vote, the second highest share after that of the winner, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, who received 39.1%.[6]

On 1 June 2024, Halla won the Icelandic presidential election, defeating former prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir by a roughly 10-point margin.[7] Her campaign focused on issues such as the effects of social media on the mental health of youth, tourism development and the role of artificial intelligence.[8]

External videos
video icon Halla Tomasdottir: A feminine response to Iceland's financial crash, TED (conference), 10:17, 2010[9]
video icon It's time for women to run for office, 19:19, TED (conference), 2016[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Halla átti kærasta þegar þau Björn hittust fyrst" (in Icelandic). mbl.is. 22 March 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Audur Capital provides financial services based on women-friendly values". Cartier Women's Initiative. 2009.
  3. ^ "Halla ætlar að bjóða sig fram". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 17 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  4. ^ Kirka, Danica (2 June 2024). "Iceland elects businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir as president". Associared Press. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  5. ^ "New presidential candidate emerges in Iceland". Morgunblaðið. Iceland. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Guðni Jóhannesson wins Iceland's presidential election". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Election week: Halla Tómasdóttir will be the president of Iceland". RÚV. Iceland. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir set to become Iceland's next president". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Halla Tómasdóttir, Change catalyst". TED (conference). 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.

External links[edit]