In the year 2014 women won the elections for all the highest positions in Icelandic politics for the first time. Male and female candidates have the same rights and equal opportunities to be elected for high positions in the country.
Mrs Halla Tómasdóttir was elected President after a strong competition with Mrs Katrín Jakobsdóttir, former Prime Minister, leading the Left Greens, the country´s most left-wing party. This was despite Katrín having earned a great respect as Prime Minister for several years.
Halla (Icelandic names are patronymic, last name is not a family name. Hereafter referred to by first names) is the seventh president of Iceland. She took office on the 1st of August 2024.
Halla has an MBA degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. She is a former member of the founding team of Reykjavik University in 1998. She also co-founded Auður Capital, an investment firm. Before taking office as Iceland’s President she served as a chief executive of The B Team, a global nonprofit group of business and civil society leaders working to promote business practices focused on humanity and the climate.
We wish to congratulate Halla and wish her a good success serving as the President of Iceland. View official photos from Halla’s inauguration as the President of Iceland on August 1, 2024.
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A new government of Iceland took office in December 2024. It consists of three parties, the Social Democratic Alliance (SDA), Vidreisn (the Reconstruction Party – RP) and the Peoples Party (PP).
Kristrún M Frostadóttir, SDA, is the new Prime Minister. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iceland, a master’s degree in international studies from Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and a master’s degree in economics from Boston University. Most of her working career has been in banking. First at Arion Bank of Iceland, then Morgan Stanley, both in London and New York and then as chief economist of Kvika Bank in Iceland. In 2021 she became a member of the Althing, serving the Reykjavik South constituency. Kristrún was elected leader of the SDA with a great majority of votes cast in the year 2022. View more about Kristrún on the Icelandic Parliament’s website.
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Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir was a deputy chairwoman of the Independence Party from 1999 to 2016, when she left the party to join the newly formed Viðreisn (RP) shortly after it was formed and subsequently became minister of fisheries and agriculture. She has served as chairwoman of the party from 2017 and is now serving as minister of foreign affairs in the recently formed government. Þorgerður graduated from the University of Iceland in 1993 with a Master of Laws degree. View more about Þorgerður on the Icelandic Parliament’s website.
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Inga Sæland is the founder and current leader of the People’s Party and has served as a member of the Althing since her election in 2017. She is serving as a Minister of Social Affairs and Housing in the cabinet of Kristrún M Frostadóttir. Inga graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Iceland and previously she had studied political science at the University for three years. View more about Inga on the Icelandic Parliament’s website.
We wish to congratulate all three ministers and eight other members of their parties that took office as ministers at the same time and wish their government success in the years to come. We know that both the new government and the president will support GPS Foundation from the day we commence our operation as a non-profit organization focusing on Global Peace and Sustainable Living.
Important to know regarding this turning point
We, the founders of the Global Peace and Sustainable Living Foundation, a platform for enabling leaders in dispute to engage directly or indirectly in their mediation process in one of the few military free jurisdictions, congratulate the incoming new government in its mission of fair, transparent and equality driven approach which also forms the pillars of our foundation. We look forward to having a future collaboration and sharing our common views and values.
Dictatorship has been earning ground globally during previous decades. Dictatorship can work very well if you choose a totally honest dictator who understands the term “universal love”. This new president may even have been determined to show total integrity and respect to his people.
At some point though things change to the worse and greed takes over. This may be due to influence from “good friends” and members of the dictator’s team. Also, after some time in office, the dictator has realized the tremendous amounts of valuables that can be directed into his own balance sheet and the closest co-workers who definitely need some sweeteners to keep them loyal to the dictator.
Dictatorship does not last forever. At some stage the people start realising that all is not as it should be. In the worst-case people have been killed, even in millions, and assets damaged and destroyed before the dictator can be removed. In such worst scenario cases it takes decades to rebuild even whole cities and repair damaged properties
The Global Peace and Sustainable Living Foundation represents a totally new approach, where Universal love (of people, regardless of colour, gender or religion and of animals and the Earth itself) is always what guides us to positive approach to running a society in a way that serves the people best.
Who can serve the people best?
Countries have introduced different systems to manage their people’s interest. No system is perfect, but recently the Northern-Europe countries have caught our eyes as being the ones that have been offering better and more equal living standards than other countries on this planet. All those countries have one thing in common though, free and properly regulated elections allowing the people to serve their common interest as well as can be.
In his e-book, “2028 After the Apocalypse”, (see amazon.com) our chairman paint’s up one scenario that could be expected if people do not start taking scientists warnings on global warming seriously. The book was published in the year 2005.
Even though this book is fiction and all dates therefore not to be taken seriously, too little has been done to stop global warming during the twenty years since the book was published. On the contrary, new wars have been started causing huge pollution and damage, leaving us much closer to the point of no return than most people were prepared for.
This is why the Global Peace and Sustainable Living Foundation wants to collect new members, from all sides of the Globe, to allow for recruiting the most qualified executive staff to take firm action and to show the world the seriousness of our Foundation’s task. The yearly membership fee may seem very low, but every penny makes a difference, and you are always welcome to make a higher contribution.
Together we will make a difference.