Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1930– )

President of Iceland 1980–96. She was first elected president in 1980, the first woman ever to be democratically elected president of a republic, and was re-elected in 1984 and 1988. In 1996 she stepped down and was replaced by Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.

Vigdís was born in Reykjavik. She taught French at a college and later at the University of Iceland. She was a member of Grima, an experimental theatre group, and was director of the Reykjavik Theatre Company 1972–80. In 1996 she became the chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international organization.