Person

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

b. 1930 · 20th century

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996, the world's first woman elected head of state in a democratic national election. A teacher and director of the Reykjavík Theatre Company before her election, she was re-elected three times. As president she promoted the Icelandic language, culture and reforestation, and later became an international advocate for linguistic diversity.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
Image: Rob Croes for Anefo · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Republic of Iceland

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/vigdis-finnbogadottir
MLA
“Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/vigdis-finnbogadottir. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/vigdis-finnbogadottir.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Vigdís Finnbogadóttir’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/vigdis-finnbogadottir (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻