Prime Minister of Iceland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prime Minister of Iceland
Coat of arms of Iceland
Incumbent Kristrún Frostadóttir since 21 December 2024
Prime Minister's Office
Style	Madam Prime Minister (informal) Her Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	State Council of Iceland Cabinet of Iceland
Seat	Reykjavík, Iceland
Appointer	President
Term length	No term limit
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Iceland Law on the Cabinet of Iceland
Precursor	Minister for Iceland
Inaugural holder	Jón Magnússon
Formation	1 February 1904; 121 years ago (1904-02-01)
Salary	2,021,825 kr/US$ 14,038 monthly
Website

The prime minister of Iceland (called Forsætisráðherra Íslands in Icelandic) is the main leader of the government in Iceland. The president of Iceland officially chooses the prime minister. The prime minister works with a group of top government officials called the cabinet. Together, they make important decisions for the country, with support from the parliament.

How the Prime Minister is Chosen

The President's Role in Government

The president of Iceland appoints the prime minister. This is stated in the Constitution of Iceland, which is like Iceland's rulebook. The prime minister then leads the meetings of the cabinet.

The Constitution says: "The [cabinet] meetings shall be presided over by the Minister called upon by the President of the Republic to do so, who is designated Prime Minister." This means the president picks one minister to be the leader, and that person becomes the prime minister.

Where the Prime Minister Works

Prime Minister's Offices and Residences

The main office for the prime minister is in a building called the Governing Council (Stjórnarráðið) in Reykjavík. This is where their team works and where important cabinet meetings happen.

The prime minister also has a summer home called Þingvallabær. It is located in Þingvellir, a beautiful national park. There is also a reception house in Tjarnargata, Reykjavík. This house was used as the prime minister's home until 1943.

Images for kids

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  Stjórnarráðið in Reykjavík, the Prime Minister's Office

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  Þingvallabær, the Prime Minister's summer residence

A Look at Past Prime Ministers

Leaders of Iceland Through History

Iceland has had many prime ministers since the position was created. Here's a look at some of the leaders who have served the country.

Home Rule Period (1904–1918)

This was a time when Iceland gained more control over its own affairs, but was still connected to Denmark.

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1		Hannes Hafstein	1 February 1904	31 March 1909		Home Rule Party
2		Björn Jónsson	31 March 1909	14 March 1911		Independence Party

Kingdom Period (1918–1944)

During this time, Iceland became an independent kingdom, but still shared a king with Denmark.

Political party colors:       Home Rule       Independence       Conservative       Progressive       Independent

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Political Party		Cabinet	Monarch
			#	Took office	Left office
6		Jón Magnússon	1	4 January 1917	25 February 1920		Home Rule Party	HP–IP–PP	Kristján X
			2	25 February 1920	7 March 1922			HP–others
(4)		Sigurður Eggerz	1	7 March 1922	22 March 1924		Independence Party	IP–others
(6)		Jón Magnússon	3	22 March 1924	23 June 1926		Conservative Party	CP
7		Magnús Guðmundsson Acting	23 June 1926	8 July 1926		Conservative Party
8		Jón Þorláksson	1	8 July 1926	28 August 1927		Conservative Party	CP
9		Tryggvi Þórhallsson	1	28 August 1927	3 June 1932		Progressive Party	PP
										10		Ásgeir Ásgeirsson	1	3 June 1932	28 July 1934		Progressive Party	PP–IP–Peasants
11		Hermann Jónasson	1	28 July 1934	16 May 1942		Progressive Party	PP–SDP
			2					PP
			3					PP–IP–SDP
			4
12		Ólafur Thors	1	16 May 1942	16 December 1942		Independence Party	IP
										13		Björn Þórðarson	1	16 December 1942	21 October 1944		Independent

Republic Period (1944–Present)

Iceland became a fully independent republic in 1944. Since then, the prime minister has led the government under a president.

Political party colors:       Independence       Progressive       Social Democratic Party       Social Democratic Alliance       Left-Green

	No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Political Party	Cabinet	President
				#	Took Office	Left Office
	(12)		Ólafur Thors	2	21 October 1944	4 February 1947	Independence Party	IP–SDP–SP	Sveinn Björnsson
	14		Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson	1	4 February 1947	6 December 1949	Social Democratic Party
	(12)		Ólafur Thors	3	6 December 1949	14 March 1950	Independence Party	IP
	15		Steingrímur Steinþórsson	1	14 March 1950	11 September 1953	Progressive Party	PP–IP
	(12)		Ólafur Thors	4	11 September 1953	24 July 1956	Independence Party		Ásgeir Ásgeirsson
	(11)		Hermann Jónasson	5	24 July 1956	23 December 1958	Progressive Party	PP–SDP–PA
	16		Emil Jónsson	1	23 December 1958	20 November 1959	Social Democratic Party	SDP
	(12)		Ólafur Thors	5	20 November 1959	8 September 1961	Independence Party	IP–SDP
	17		Bjarni Benediktsson Acting		8 September 1961	31 December 1961	Independence Party
	(12)		Ólafur Thors		1 January 1962	14 November 1963	Independence Party
	(17)		Bjarni Benediktsson	1	14 November 1963	10 July 1970	Independence Party			Kristján Eldjárn
											18		Jóhann Hafstein	1	Acting: 10 July 10 October 1970	14 July 1971	Independence Party	IP–SDP
	19		Ólafur Jóhannesson	1	14 July 1971	28 August 1974	Progressive Party		PP–PA–LL
	20		Geir Hallgrímsson	1	28 August 1974	1 September 1978	Independence Party	IP–PP
	(19)		Ólafur Jóhannesson	2	1 September 1978	15 October 1979	Progressive Party	PP–PA
	21		Benedikt Gröndal	1	15 October 1979	8 February 1980	Social Democratic Party	SDP
	22		Gunnar Thoroddsen	1	8 February 1980	26 May 1983	Independence Party (*Gunnar's faction)	IP*–PP–PA	Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
	23		Steingrímur Hermannsson	1	26 May 1983	8 July 1987	Progressive Party	PP–IP
	24		Þorsteinn Pálsson	1	8 July 1987	28 September 1988	Independence Party	IP–PP–SDP
	(23)		Steingrímur Hermannsson	2	28 September 1988	30 April 1991	Progressive Party	PP–SDP–PA
				3				PP–SDP–PA–CiP
	25		Davíð Oddsson	1	30 April 1991	15 September 2004	Independence Party	IP–SDP		Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
				2				IP–PP
				3
				4
	26		Halldór Ásgrímsson	1	15 September 2004	15 June 2006	Progressive Party
	27		Geir Haarde	1	15 June 2006	1 February 2009	Independence Party
				2				IP–SDA
	28		Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir	1	1 February 2009	23 May 2013	Social Democratic Alliance	SDA–LGM
									29			Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson	1	23 May 2013	7 April 2016	Progressive Party	PP–IP	Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson
	30		Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson	1	7 April 2016	11 January 2017	Progressive Party
	31		Bjarni Benediktsson	1	11 January 2017	30 November 2017	Independence Party	IP–C–BF
	32		Katrín Jakobsdóttir	1	30 November 2017	9 April 2024	Left-Green Movement	LGM–IP–PP
									2	(31)		Bjarni Benediktsson	2	9 April 2024	21 December 2024	Independence Party	Halla Tómasdóttir
	33		Kristrún Frostadóttir	1	21 December 2024	Incumbent	Social Democratic Alliance		SDA–RP–PP

Timeline of Prime Ministers

See also

• List of rulers of Iceland
• Cabinet of Iceland