President’s Birthday in Iceland Date in the current year: October 11, 2025

Halla Tómasdóttir was born in Reykjavík on October 11, 1968. She attended high school and college in the United States, graduating from Auburn University at Montgomery with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1993 and from Arizona State University with an MBA in 1995.

Before starting her political career, Halla helped co-found Reykjavík University in 1998 and the financial services company Auður Capital in 2007. She also worked as the CEO of The B Team, a global nonprofit initiative that promotes business practices centered on climate and humanity.

Halla first participated in presidential elections in 2016. She was the runner-up to the winning candidate, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, who received 39.1% of the vote. She skipped the 2020 elections, in which Guðni was reelected, and ran again in 2024. Guðni did not seek reelection, and Halla ran against former Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, among other candidates. The main focus of her presidential campaign was youth mental health, tourism development, and the role of AI.

Halla won with 34.15% of the vote and was inaugurated on August 1, 2024. She is the second female president of Iceland, after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who served from 1980 to 1996.