I Look For Positive Leadership

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
I Look For Positive Leadership
Like
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir: "I look for positive leadership – something creative, that inspires, with ideas that can be applied for good."
Image credit: Rob C. Croes (ANEFO), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1930-) was Icelandic teacher and politician who served as president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. She was the first woman in the world to be elected head of state in a national election.

From 1972 to 1980 she served as director of the Reykjavík Theatre Company (Leikfélag Reykjavíkur) and participated in an experimental theatre group. She also presented French lessons and cultural programming on Iceland State Television. She became a member of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs in Nordic Countries in 1976 and was elected its chair in 1978.

On this day in 1980, she was elected to the presidency over three male opponents. She was reelected three times, making her the longest-serving elected female head of state of any country.

She later served as the president of UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology, and has become UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador for languages.

 


You Might Also Like: 

🦸 Barbara Jordan: “The imperative is to define what is right and do it.”

☀️ Ketanji Brown Jackson: “You can’t always expect to be the smartest person in the room but you can promise to be the hardest working.”

🌱  Michelle Obama: “People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together.”

⛰️ Luiza Trajano: "Everyone makes mistakes. You need to make space for new mistakes to happen. The important thing is to correct them quickly."

💭 Ibukun Awosika: “There are challenges everywhere. You must have tenacity; you must have the strength of character not to cheat.”

Please sign in

If you are a registered user on Laidlaw Scholars Network, please sign in