The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.1988, Qupperneq 32

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SPRING, 1988
by only 1.5 percent the former University
of Iceland president. Runners-up were a
former ambassador, and a well-known
businessman. My first question, therefore,
is obvious:
How does it feel to be the first and only
female president in the world?
“Very strange. I’m no more used to it
now than when I was elected. I didn’t realize
it would be an international event. I was
startled at how many people seemed to like
a woman’s face. In a campaign, you simply
‘go for it,’ not visualizing how it will end. I
think I’ve succeeded in proving a woman
can stand beside a man; it’s been a chal-
lenge.
“During the campaign, it was the ordi-
nary person who spoke for me: the seamen,
the farmers, the young and the old. The
seamen especially said they chose me, a
woman, as a tribute to the women they left
to struggle alone when they were off at sea
for long periods. The middle-aged generally
did not vote for me; they disliked the idea
of a “single” as head of state. The fact that I
was divorced was never a problem.”
Do you see yourself as the embodiment of
women’s rights?
“No. I find equal rights natural. As you
know, Iceland was one of the first countries
to give women the vote, and it’s nearly
seventy years since women were given
equal access to public office. I didn’t have
to strive to be theatre president back in
1972; I was offered the position. In 19801
was only asked if I could do the job of
president; people chose me as their spokes-
man. My line has been that when girls
demand and require the same education as
men, there will be no question of ‘rights.’
The difference in rights now is based on
women having accepted less education
than men, and having children or the care
of a home too soon. I think women should
finish their education before they marry,
and work awhile.
“Education is like having a large bank
account in your pocket; it’s an investment
that’s better than a chateau. The new free-
dom of birth control also permits finishing
one’s education first, even if one marries.
In our generation we all married early,
then worked for our children or husband. I
think we are better able to plan our lives
after a good education.”
Her own life seems to prove it. Daughter
of well-known parents: he, an engineer/
professor and she, a Registered Nurse/
women’s rights champion, Vigdis was born
April 15,1930. She and her brother, a year
younger, attended Reykjavik Gymnasium,
but he died in an accident just as he was to
enter the University of Iceland. Vigdis had
graduated from the Gymnasium in 1949,
then spent over three years studying French
language, literature and drama at the Uni-
versity of Grenoble and the Sorbonne. In
1953 she returned to Iceland and married
a former schoolmate, now a doctor. Their
childless marriage lasted nine years.
After divorce, she worked as librarian,
programme director and public relations
officer for the National Theatre while con-
tinuing studies at the University of Iceland
in English and French literature and philos-
ophy. During those years she went abroad
once again for courses in theatre history in
Copenhagen and French philology in Swe-
den. Various positions as teacher at Reyk-
javik Gymnasium and in commercial pub-
lic relations followed. In 1963 she helped
found the first experimental theatre in
Iceland, and in 1972 became its director.
Icelanders came to know her during those
years, especially when she taught French
on Icelandic TV — her warm gaiety a
contrast to the wooden demeanors and
rather sterile dissertations that still charac-
terize Icelandic national television. In 1973
she adopted a baby girl — the first adoption
ever granted to a ‘single’ person.