Iceland to Install First Lesbian Head of State
Posted on January 30, 2009
Filed Under Gay/Lesbian, International, Politics, Women | Comments Off on Iceland to Install First Lesbian Head of State
Iceland seems set to make political history again after the recent collapse of its ruling coalition since the top candidate as interim prime minister is openly lesbian.
Openly lesbian , a 65-year-old whose Jan. 31 elevation to the post of Prime Minister would have seemed the longest of long shots thirty years ago, at the start of the former flight attendant’s political career.
Or, perhaps not: this is a woman whose determination and perseverance have set her apart from others in the tiny nation’s government, a woman who once formed her own party before recommitting to the Social Democratic Alliance.
With Sigurdardottir having taken the reigns of national leadership and Iceland headed toward membership in the European Union, the promise of hope for a nation beset by deep economic woes–and the Jan. 26 fall of a government that had lost the trust of its people–far outweigh the sexual orientation of the new leader.
Even so, Sigurdardottir’s assumption of the role of Prime Minister marks an historic step forward: never before has an openly GLBT individual been prime minister of a nation.
