Halla Tomasdottir, a businesswoman and CEO of The B Team, has won Iceland‘s presidential election, defeating former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir.
Tomasdottir secured 34.3% of the votes, while Jakobsdottir received 25.5%.
She will succeed Gudni Johannesson, who has been in office since 2016, and announced he would not seek re-election.
The position of president in Iceland is largely ceremonial but includes the power to veto legislation or submit it to a referendum.
Jakobsdottir, who stepped down as Prime Minister in April to run for president, conceded defeat early on Sunday and congratulated Tomasdottir.
Tomasdottir, 55, who previously ran for president in 2016, gained significant support in the final days of the campaign.
Tomasdottir’s victory makes her the second woman to serve as Iceland’s president after Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the world’s first woman democratically elected as Head of State in 1980.
In addition to her role as CEO of The B Team, a global non-profit co-founded by UK business magnate Richard Branson to advocate for business practices centred on humanity and the climate, Halla Tomasdottir is also the founder of Audur Capital. Established in 2007, this investment firm aims to promote feminine values within the financial sector.
The president-elect will assume office on August 1, 2024.