Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (born 4 October 1942) is an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013.

After graduating with her commercial diploma in 1960, she worked as a flight attendant with Icelandic Airlines (a predecessor of Icelandair) from 1962 to 1971, and as an office manager from 1971 to 1978.

She was active in the trade union movement from early in her professional life, presiding over the Board of the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association in 1966 and 1969 and over the Board of Svölurnar, Association of Former Stewardesses in 1975.

She was also a member of the Board of the Commercial Workers' Union from 1976 to 1983.

Elected as an MP from 1978 to 2013, she was appointed as Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security, serving from 1987 to 1994, and from 2007 until 2009.

She has been a member of the Althing (Iceland's parliament) for Reykjavík constituencies since 1978, winning re-election on eight successive occasions.

Jóhanna was elected to the Althing in 1978 on the list of the Social Democratic Party for the Reykjavík constituency.

She enjoyed early success in her parliamentary career, serving as deputy speaker of the Althing (Iceland's parliament) in 1979 and in 1983–84.

She was elected vice-chairman of the Social Democratic Party in 1984, a post she held until 1993.

She was also Minister of Social Affairs in four separate Cabinets from 1987 to 1994, when she left the Social Democratic Party after losing the leadership contest to form a new party, National Awakening; the two parties remerged in 2000 to form the present Social Democratic Alliance.

In 1994, when she lost a bid to head the Social Democratic Party, she raised her fist and declared "Minn tími mun koma!" ("My time will come!"), a phrase that became a popular Icelandic expression.

Her 1994 declaration Minn tími mun koma! ("My time will come!"), after she lost the contest for the leadership of the Social Democratic party, has become an iconic phrase in the Icelandic language.

From 1994 to 2003, she was an active member of the opposition in the Althing, serving on numerous parliamentary committees.

After the 2003 elections, in which she stood in the Reykjavík South constituency (after the split of the old Reykjavík constituency), she was re-elected deputy speaker of the Althing.

The 2007 elections, in which she stood in the Reykjavík North constituency, saw the return of the Social Democratic Alliance to government in coalition with the Independence Party, and Jóhanna was named Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security.

An opinion poll by Capacent Gallup in December 2008 found 73% approval of her actions as a minister, more than any other member of the cabinet: she was also the only minister to have improved her approval ratings over 2008.

The new government needed the support of the Progressive Party in the Althing.

Negotiations continued up to the evening of 31 January, and the new cabinet was appointed on 1 February.

Independent polling showed that Jóhanna and Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, leader of the Left-Green Movement, the other party in the coalition government, enjoyed considerable support outside their own parties.

She became Prime Minister on 1 February 2009, Iceland's first female Prime Minister and the world's first openly LGBT head of government.

Forbes listed her among the 100 most powerful women in the world.

On 26 January 2009, Prime Minister Geir Haarde tendered the coalition government's resignation to the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.

After talks with the leaders of the five parties represented in the Althing, the President asked the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement to form a new government and to prepare for elections in the spring.

Jóhanna was proposed as Prime Minister for the new government; two reasons for this were her popularity among the general public and her good relations with the Left-Green Movement.

On 25 April 2009, a parliamentary election was held in Iceland, following the protests now known as the Kitchenware Revolution that resulted from the Icelandic financial crisis.

The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, which formed the outgoing coalition government under Jóhanna, both made gains and together had an overall majority of seats in the Althing.

The Progressive Party also made gains, and the new Citizens' Movement, formed after the January 2009 protests, gained four seats.

The Independence Party, which had been in power for eighteen years until January 2009, lost a third of its support and nine seats in the Althing.

On 10 May 2009, the new government was announced, with Jóhanna staying on as Prime Minister.

There were several referendums to decide about the Icesave Icelandic bank debts, center of the country's financial crisis.

The first Icesave referendum (Þjóðaratkvæðagreiðsla um Icesave), was held on 6 March 2010.

After the referendum, new negotiations commenced.

On 16 February 2011, the Althing agreed to a repayment deal to pay back the full amount starting in 2016, finalising before 2046, with a fixed interest rate of 3%.

The Icelandic president once again refused to sign the new deal on 20 February, calling for a new referendum.

Thus, a second referendum would be held on 9 April 2011 also resulting in "no" victory with a lesser percentage.

After the referendum failed to pass, the British and Dutch governments said that they would take the case to the European courts.

In September 2012, Jóhanna announced she would not seek re-election and retired from politics as Iceland's longest serving member of Parliament.

Jóhanna was born in Reykjavík.

Her father was Sigurður Egill Ingimundarson.

She studied at the Commercial College of Iceland, a vocational high school operated by the Chamber of Commerce.