Guðni is the son of teacher and journalist Margrét Thorlacius and sports instructor Jóhannes Sæmundsson.[2] His brother Patrekur Jóhannesson is a former Icelandic handballnational team player.[2] Guðni played handball in his youth, in both Iceland and the UK.[2][3]
Guðni decided to stand for president on 5 May 2016. Before his candidacy, he had appeared frequently on live television to provide commentary and historical context in the wake of the publication of the Panama Papers, which created a scandal for Icelandic prime minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and ultimately led to his ouster.[8] A scholar of the Icelandic presidency, Guðni delineated on live television the options available to incumbent president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and other Icelandic political actors.[8] After his television appearances, there were calls for Guðni to run for the presidency himself.[8]
His platform included support for a citizen initiative referendum provision in the Constitution.[9] Early polls showed significant support,[10] and following incumbent president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson's decision to drop out of the race Guðni saw an increase in popularity reflected in various polls, which ranked him first with 67% to 69%, far ahead of other contenders.[11] Guðni was elected on 25 June after receiving a plurality of 39.1% of the vote.[12]
Guðni was unaffiliated with any of Iceland's political parties.[13] He said he would be a "less political president" than his predecessor due to a lack of partisanship.[13] Guðni has emphasized the importance of unity for the small nation.[13]
Guðni took office as President of Iceland on 1 August 2016[14] after winning the most votes in that year's election, 71,356 (39.1%). At 48, he was Iceland's youngest president.[13] Roughly one month into his term, Guðni had approval ratings of 68.6% in an MMR survey, the highest approval rating this pollster has measured for an Icelandic president since its establishment in 2011.[15][16] Early in his term, Guðni had to oversee negotiations to form a government in Iceland in the wake of the 2016 Icelandic parliamentary election on 29 October.[17] These negotiations were difficult, as no pre-election coalition had a majority, and all possible majority coalitions had parties with highly divergent policy positions.[17][18][19][20][21] In December 2016, Guðni had approval ratings of 97%.[22] Such high approval ratings for Icelandic politicians are without precedent.[23] In April 2019, his approval rating was 93.5% among those who took a position in a survey.[8]
In the 2020 presidential election, Guðni was re-elected with 92.2% of the vote.[25] On 1 January 2024, Guðni announced in his New Year's address to the Icelandic people that he would not stand for election again in 2024.[26]
Personal life
Religious beliefs
Guðni stands outside organized religion, but was raised in the Catholic faith. He left the Catholic Church due to its delayed and muted response to reports of criminal abuses by priests.[1][27][28] His credo is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "human beings are born free, equal in dignity and rights. Humans are endowed with reason and conscience and should act in the spirit of brotherhood towards each other."[1][27][28]
Guðni has authored numerous books on historical topics. On 1 September 2022, he presented a book about the Icelandic Cod Wars with the United Kingdom, Stund milli stríða. Saga landhelgismálsins, 1961–1971 (A Lull in the Cod Wars. Iceland and its Territorial Waters 1961–1971) on the 50th anniversary of the 1972 skirmish.[31]
A selection of other important books published by Guðni:
Hrunið: Ísland á barmi gjaldþrots og upplausnar, The Collapse: Iceland on the Verge of Bankruptcy and Dissolution, (a book about the financial crisis 2008), 2009, Bókabúð Forlagið.
Óvinir Ríksins, Enemies of the State, (a book about secret observation of supposed threats to inner security after Iceland joined NATO in 1949 and the U.S. established an air base near Keflavík in 1951), 2006, Bókabúð Forlagið. The book was nominated for the Icelandic Book Prize 2006.
Guðni is distantly related to former US president Barack Obama: they are 24th cousins 8 times removed.[37] The connection is through Obama's Scottish ancestry.[37] Guðni also shares ancestry with former US president Donald Trump through their descent from Haakon V of Norway.[38]
Bibliography
Kári í jötunmóð. Saga Íslenskrar erfðagreiningar og Kára Stefánssonar (Reykjavík: Nýja bókafélagið, 1999).
Völundarhús valdsins. Stjórnarmyndanir, stjórnarslit og staða forseta Íslands í embættistíð Kristjáns Eldjárns, 1968–1980 (Reykjavík: Mál og menning, 2005).
Óvinir ríkisins. Ógnir og innra öryggi í kalda stríðinu á Íslandi (Reykjavík: Mál og menning, 2006).
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