America may have elected its first black president, but Iceland just named its first lesbian prime minister. And did we mention 66-year-old Johanna Sigurdardottir is a former flight attendant?
You might’ve heard that Iceland’s economic situation is even worse than our own. Their currency, the krona, is effectively worthless. Their economy went from hundreds of billions of dollars to zero almost overnight when the credit crisis hit the island nation’s three banks, forcing the government to take them over. And the generally peaceful population has taken to throwing eggs and toilet paper at government buildings, outraged their life savings have been wiped out and their loans — mostly set up in foreign currencies, back when the krona was strong — are now usurious. At times, crowds of 32,000 (10 percent of Iceland’s population) had gathered in Reykjavik as an angry mob.
Caving to demands, the government, under Geir Haarde, stepped down on Monday. Enter Sigurdardottir, the center-left member of the Social Democratic Alliance and most recently Iceland’s social affairs minister, who will now serve as interim leader. She lives with wife Jonina Leosdottir (the married in 2002), has two sons from a previous marriage, and needs the quell a very angry country. Naturally, critics say she’s not fit for the job, and will lose in the upcoming May elections. But as it stands, Sigurdardottir’s popularity is skyrocketing.
Just like a certain new American president — who also has a nation’s economy to save.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Marco
Iceland is a parliamentary republic
She’s actually the head of government not the head of state.
Iceland’s Head of state in President Ólafur Ragnar GrÃmsson.
🙂
Nick
Didn’t Hadrian name a city for his dead lover?
Alexa
Am I getting confused, or are there posts missing? I could have sworn I replied to a similar post here earlier, but I can’t find it now.
Kid A
@Alexa: Happened to me too.
Smokey Martini
@Kid A:
@Alexa:
You guys are probably referring to yesterday’s article, which dealt with the SAME THING – just in different words:
http://www.queerty.com/iceland-gets-lesbian-prime-minister-20090128
Why Queerty does this is beyond me…
Alexa
@Smokey Martini:
Yes, that’s the one, and it’s on here now, but when I posted here earlier it was nowhere to be found.
Mark
Hold on a minute … the Social Democrats and the Greens are still locked in a room trying to thrash-out a coalition agreement. So despite what the AP and Murdoch’s The Times of London says, there is no done deal. No coalition agreement, no coalition, no Johanna Sigurdardottir as Prime Minister. That said, the seagulls are whispering that a deal is close. Even so, Ms Sigurdardottir has not been named PM of Iceland, only named as the choice of the projected SD/Green coalition.
Interesting article by an American living and working on the Iceland Review: http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_life/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=319127
And a good biog of the lady: http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/09/Jan/2801.htm … and they actually spell her name correctly
Darth Paul
@Nick: Maybe. I know Alexander did. What this has to do w/Iceland, though, I don’t know 🙂
An Other Greek
from wiki re: Antinous
…After his death, the grief of the emperor Hadrian knew no bounds, causing the most extravagant respect to be paid to his memory. Cities were founded in his name, medals struck with his effigy, and statues erected to him in all parts of the empire. Following the example of Alexander (who sought divine honours for his beloved, Hephaistion, when he died), Hadrian had Antinous proclaimed a god. Temples were built for his worship in Bithynia, Mantineia in Arcadia, and Athens, festivals celebrated in his honour and oracles delivered in his name. The city of Antinopolis or Antinoe was founded on the ruins of Besa where he died (Dio Cassius lix.11; Spartianus, “Hadrian”).
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dgz
let’s hope both she and obama are unqualified successes.
amajenn
Ah, I hope she’s as colorful and fiscally minded as Thatcher with the “tell no lies” heroism of Washington and the socially forward attitude of Bobby Kennedy. Hoorah. One of my peoples has made it to the Big Time. Though part of me wonders if this isn’t the equivalent of the lucky rat that scrambled to the highest mast of the Dartmoor, haha. Poor woman.
And yes – let her success go hand-in-hand with that of Obama. Wouldn’t it be lovely to see the two of them together after bringing their countries back from the abyss of financial ruin?
As we all know, minorities must outperform or else be deemed an absolute failure.
I bet less on a single horse race than I contributed to the Obama campaign. Let’s see what my $5 wins us.