List of Presidents of Iceland
| President of Iceland Forseti Íslands |
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| Office of the President | |
| Member of | State Council of Iceland |
| Residence | Bessastaðir |
| Seat | Garðabær, Capital Region |
| Term length | Four years Renewable indefinitely as long as the incumbent wins presidential elections or is uncontested. |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Iceland |
| Precursor | King of Iceland |
| Formation | 17 June 1944 |
| First holder | Sveinn Björnsson |
| Succession | Collective President of the Parliament, Prime Minister and President of the Supreme Court. |
| Salary | 2,480,341 ISK monthly (2017) |
| Website |
english forseti |
The President of Iceland (Icelandic: Forseti Íslands) is Iceland's elected head of state. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his first term as president, elected in 2016.
The president is elected to a four-year term by popular vote, is not term-limited, and has limited powers. The presidential residence is situated in Bessastaðir in Garðabær, near the capital city Reykjavík.
When Iceland became a republic in 1944 by the passing of a new constitution the position of King of Iceland was simply replaced by the President of Iceland. A transitional provision of the new constitution stipulated that the first president be elected by the parliament.
Etymology of the word Forseti from Old Norse is "the presiding one" and it is the name of one of Æsir gods, i.e. the one of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology. He is generally identified with Fosite, a god of the Frisians.
The President appoints ministers to the Cabinet of Iceland, determines their number and division of assignments. Ministers are not able to resign and must be discharged by the President. The ministers are delegated the President's executive powers and are solely responsible for their actions.
In the aftermath of general elections, the President has the role to designate a party leader (the one that the President considers most likely to be able to form a majority coalition government) to formally start negotiations to form a government.Sveinn Björnsson and Ásgeir Ásgeirsson played highly active roles in the formation of governments, attempting to set up governments that suited their political preferences, whereas Kristján Eldjárn and Vigdís Finnbogadóttir were passive and neutral as to individuals and parties comprising the government.
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