Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
Vigdis Finnbogadottir in September 1985
4th President of Iceland
In office 1 August 1980 – 1 August 1996
Prime Minister	Gunnar Thoroddsen Steingrímur Hermannsson Þorsteinn Pálsson Steingrímur Hermannsson Davíð Oddsson
Preceded by	Kristján Eldjárn
Succeeded by	Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Personal details
Born	(1930-04-15) 15 April 1930 (age 86) Reykjavík, Iceland
Alma mater	University of Paris University of Grenoble University of Copenhagen University of Iceland

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir [ˈvɪɣtis ˈfɪn.pɔɣaˌtoʊhtɪr] (born 15 April 1930) served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1 August 1980 to 1996. She was both Iceland's and Europe's first female president, and the world's first democratically directly elected female president. With a presidency of exactly sixteen years, she also remains the longest-serving elected female head of state of any country to date. Currently, she is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and a Member of the Club of Madrid. She is also to date Iceland's only female president.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was born in Reykjavík on 15 April 1930. Her father, Finnbogi Rútur Þorvaldsson, was a civil engineer, as well as a professor at the University of Iceland. Her mother, Sigríður Eiríksdóttir, was a nurse and the chairperson of the Icelandic Nurses Association. They had two children: Vigdís and then a son a year later. After passing her matriculation exam in 1949, Vigdís studied French and French literature at the University of Grenoble and the Sorbonne in Paris from 1949 to 1953, then studied the history of theater at the University of Copenhagen. She then acquired a BA in French and English, as well as PGCE, at the University of Iceland. She married a physician in 1954, but divorced in 1963, and at the age of 41 she adopted a daughter, being the first single woman who was allowed to adopt a child.

Vigdís participated in the 1960s and 1970s in numerous rallies held to protest against the U.S. military presence in Iceland (and in particular at Keflavík). Every year hundreds—sometimes thousands—walked the 50-km road to Keflavík and chanted "Ísland úr NATO, herinn burt" (literally: Iceland out of NATO, the military away).