Iceland review - 2012, Page 50

48 ICELAND REVIEW
the five-time
president
Following the most heated and controversial
presidential election in the country’s history, for
a record fifth consecutive term, the Republic of
Iceland chooses the same president.
June 30. An extraordinarily beauti-
ful day in Reykjavík, as across the
country. Politics are very much the
last thing on most people’s mind.
This is a perfect day to treasure
the moment and stay outdoors
after a long winter. Even so, the
election that took place on that Saturday
was supposed to attract more voters than
the last three times Icelanders have elected
a president. This time, it was not a formality.
It turned out that the pulling power of the
bright, sunny day was overwhelming, and
this became the second presidential elec-
tion in the history of Iceland with a turnout
below 70 percent, albeit only just, with 69.2
percent turning out to vote.
The president is Iceland’s elected head of
state. The president is elected to a four-year
term by universal adult suffrage and has
limited powers. Unlike many other coun-
tries, Iceland does not limit the number of
terms the president is allowed to serve. The
president is not head of the government; that
role falls to the Prime Minister. There have
been five presidents since Iceland became
independent from Denmark in 1944. The
incumbent is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson,
who was first elected in 1996, again in 2000
and 2004, and returned unopposed in 2008.
CoNtRoveRSIAl PReSIDeNt
RefuSeD to SIgN lAwS
Ólafur Ragnar, who was originally elected
president from a field of four candidates
with 42 percent of the total vote, has from
the outset been a controversial figure. Not
only is he the first president to use the
authorization given in the 26th article
of the constitution to put a law from the
Alþing, or parliament, to a national refer-
endum, he also had close ties to the direc-
tors of the Icelandic banks that collapsed
in a memorable fashion in the autumn of
2008. Ólafur Ragnar first decided to call
for a referendum on June 2, 2004, in regard
to a law about the mass media. His deci-
sion remains controversial with politicians
and legal scholars alike. Some consider his
refusal to approve the law as an “attack” on
the Alþing and parliamentary sovereignty,
and lawyers still debate whether article 26 is
actually valid. On January 5, 2010, he again
By sölvi tryggvason Photo By ingólfur júlíusson
official Portrait courtesy of tHe office of tHe President of iceland
Waiting at rÚV (The Icelandic National
Broadcasting Service) for the first results
in the presidential election.
From left:
President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson,
Andrea Ólafsdóttir, Ari Trausti Guðmundsson,
Þóra Arnórsdóttir and Herdís Þorgeirsdóttir.
Missing is Hannes Bjarnason who was in
Skagafjörður, North Iceland celebrating
with his family and friends.