Halla Tómasdóttir was just 11 years old when Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became Iceland’s head of state – and in the process the world’s first democratically elected female president. This, she said, “planted a seed” that would influence her career as an entrepreneur and her view on female leadership, ultimately leading her to follow in Vigdís’s footsteps to become the second woman in the role. While she did not know then she would run for office herself, growing up with a female president had a profound impact on her.
“Ever since then she was a role model for me and all of us who thankfully grew up during her presidency of 16 years,” Halla, who took office last week , said in an interview with the Guardian. She was inspired by her approach to equality, nature, culture and international relations. “It planted a seed in me that influenced how I think about leadership and I believe she led the way for Iceland’s leadership in gender equality,” she said.
Having previously run for president, narrowly missing out to her predecessor Guðni Jóhannesson, who stood down after eight years in office, she said her inauguration on Thursday was “truly magical”. The feminist entrepreneur, who started an investment fund with the musician Björk at the height of Iceland’s 2008 financial crisis, was chief executive of Richard Branson’s non-profit The B Team, and has given a Ted talk on applying “feminine values” to finance, won more than 34% of the vote .