World gets its first gay leader
Former air hostess to be sworn in as Icelandic premier after economic collapse
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Independent Minds
Pink power: Four pioneering gay politicians
The first government collapse of the global economic crisis is about to yield the world's first openly-gay leader. Johanna Sigurdardottir, a former air hostess, is expected to be sworn in as Iceland's Prime Minister by the end of the week.
Her moment in the international spotlight comes at the most horrendous moment in her nation's recent history. As the global meltdown began, the collapse of Iceland's grossly over-leveraged economy was followed smartly by the implosion of its banks and currency. Now its government has gone the same way, the first to succumb to the backwash from the crisis.
Ms Sigurdardottir's party, the Social Democrat Alliance, was asked to form a new government but its leader is taking a leave of absence to recover from treatment for a benign tumour. And so, "Saint Johanna", as she has come to be known, has been propelled from the social affairs ministry – which she has presided over for a decade – to take centre stage in a choice hailed as "unexpected but brilliant".
The 66-year-old politician lives with her partner, Jonina Leosdottir, a journalist and playwright. The couple were joined in a civil ceremony in 2002. Don't expect them to show up togetherfor photocalls, however – that's not the Icelandic way. Though she is famous across the island, having been a top politician for years, her lesbian union was no big deal in this calmly progressive nation of only 300,000 people.
"Johanna is a very private person," said an Icelandic government source. "A lot of people didn't even know she was gay. When they learn about it people tend to shrug and say, 'Oh'. That's not to say they are not interested; they are interested in who she's living with – but no more so than if she was a man living with a woman."
Ms Sigurdardottir has two grown-up sons. She entered politics via the labour movement, was first elected to parliament in 1978 and was given her first ministerial office in 1987. She will be Prime Minister of a minority caretaker government composed of her Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Greens, with outside support. It is only expected to hold office for two or three months, until fresh elections are called.
"In opinion polls Johanna has repeatedly been chosen as the most popular politician in Iceland," said the government source. "She is a good choice, because one of the problems the government is facing is lack of trust. Getting Johanna to become Prime Minister was a way of saying trust is an issue. Politicians want a fresh mandate from the electorate and, before they get it, they need to rebuild trust. Choosing Johanna is a way of saying, 'Let's bridge this gap, let's have peace to be able to implement the emergency measures'."
Geir Haarde, the former prime minister, endured months of angry protests over his poor handling of the economy; demonstrators pelted his car with eggs and police were forced to use tear gas on the streets for the first time in 50 years. Compare that to a poll in November that gave Ms Sigurdardottir a 73 per cent approval rating, she was the only minister to improve on the previous year's score.
"She is often described as the only politician who really cares about the little guy," wrote Icelandic journalist Iris Erlingsdottir in a blog this week.
She did stand for the leadership of her party back in 1994 and lost badly, but in her concession speech she predicted "my time will come". And some 15 years later, it truly has.
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Comments
Wasn't George W. Bush the first gay head of state? James I?
Former air hostess? Who cares. I think it's a little bit demeaning to represent Johanna Sigurdardottir, one of Iceland's most active and unselfishly dedicated politician, in a way that makes readers think a rookie is taking over head office in Iceland. Not all politicians must be born rich, or even be rich for that matter.
I'm Icelandic but I didn't know about her sexuality until yesterday, it's good for Iceland to have the worlds first lesbian head of state, we need a steady handed truck driver to lead us out of this economic fiasco.
But the best thing about whole situation is that the mammon corrupted right wing politicians are out, and a person they never listed to or respected is taking over their place. And the fact that this makes them ever so angry, just puts a big smile on my face.
Many important people have begun their careers not involving important decision making. It's the end of the journey and the journey itself that matters not the beginnings.
It used to be for example the only paper with a sane outlook on Cannabis but they "changed their mind" openly a few years ago. This is not how the Independent used to be having opinions from varying standpoint for and against, how can an entire newspaper change its mind on the basis of the flimsy evidence they put forward at time point to external influences.
There seems to be bigots and people who will happily be pushed by money and political presure at the top of this paper now.
RIP Old Independent
The news broke on Friday 23rd Jan 2009. I'd heard he'd had enought of living part of his life in secret. What heterosexual has to keep their heterosexuality quite after all? "So what?" said members of the UMP - except that people are usually ghastly in their speculations about those who keep their private lives private - in my experience it's much easier coming out, it stops nasty gossip.
Nice to know we are everywhere.
Wade
Funny how far we've come in liberating ourselves from Victorian morality. Once upon a time two blokes living together were simply defraying living costs. Similarly two unmarried women. No-one cared. No one gossiped. Suspicions, where there were any, were kept private betwen adults.
Today all is different. Indeed a predisposition to sticking one's dick up another man's rear is enough to be awarded one's own televison programme (and at taxpayer's expense). Mr Grimbly's error is thus to follow the lead of all the dreary bum-boys in projecting their own sordid tastes on to others in order to feel better about themselves. As an aunt of mine once said after I'd tried to explain the way of the modern world, 'Well they might be gay - but can't they go in and close the door?' Quite.
I'm sure this lady will make a fine politician (and you can interpret that as you wish). But it is surely an oddity that having followed instructions to 'grow up' about such matters our exciting new society has never been more smuttily, busybodyingly obsessed with who is doing what to whom and with inevitable consequences for individual privacy. Conservatives could have told you this would happen. But then conservatives think. If liberals could think they woudn't be liberals.
'The Lobby' excuses itself and its infantile preoccupations with all that is irrelevant and vulgar with the clarion cry of 'genetics'. If so they should ask themselves why, if homosexuality is excused on grounds of genetic, revulsion towards it isn't just as amenable to the same explanation?
You see? They don't think. Now I'm off to read the sports section. Some bigot is bound to stamp his queenly feet and demand this post be removed so I might as well scoot before I get tempted to take on some of the other keyboard warriors.....
It seems rather sexist to run this headline.
Pace Marlowe and others. But vicarious tittle-tattle and innuendo make a great substitute for content, and sell better :(
Frankly I wouldn't care if Gordon Brown's preferred sexual partner was a sheep, if only he were capable of running the country in a way acceptable to those who (didn't) vote for him.
But he can't. Heterosexuality is no indicator of de facto ability.
Nor is being gay. Look at Condoleeza Rice as an example of a deceitful, lying, bigotry-driven disaster, for example.
Are you actually on drugs by any chance? Medication perhaps? You should be reading the Daily Star...that's the level you're at.
Curiously, the outgoing Prime Minister Geir Haarde was one of the few Icelanders who it is correct to refer to as "Mr Haarde" since his father was Norwegian, and Haarde is a surname in his case.
[info]samb_uk wrote:
Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 02:20 am (UTC)
This is quite inspirational. The fact that we, as a global community - at least in the enlightened regions of the globe - are putting behind racial and sexual differences and writing history with the first black President in the United States and the first gay president in Iceland.
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Don't you mean the enlightened parts which like to live off the unenlightened rest of the planet?
Iceland is getting a Prime Minister with years of experience as minister, decades as parlamentarian. A seasond labor union leader with a good standing in the grassroots.
Johanna is respected and trusted as a person. She has integrity and forecefulness that many people value. I am not a supporter of her party but I sincerely hope and wish she will succeed.
Iceland has been lucky before. Ex-President Vigdis Finnbogadottir was a remarkable president, a single woman, who is cherished by a large part of the population.