Post by Terry on Jan 31, 2009 14:42:56 GMT -5
From: washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=23696
Iceland to name lesbian prime minister
Politician to become world’s first openly gay head of government
By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade | Jan 27, 4:24 PM
Iceland’s lesbian minister of social affairs was expected to be chosen as the country’s caretaker prime minister later this week, making her the word’s first known openly gay head of government.
Johanna Siguroardottir, 66, a member of the Icelandic Parliament since 1978, was designated Tuesday by leaders of Iceland’s Social Democratic Alliance Party as the party’s choice for prime minister following the collapse of the country’s governing coalition Monday.
Siguroardottir, if ratified to become prime minister as expected by an interim coalition formed by the Social Democratic Alliance and other political parties, must grapple with rising unemployment and near chaos in the country’s banking system brought about by the worldwide financial crisis.
“If she is gay, that is not an issue at all,” said Olafur Sigurdsson, deputy chief of mission at the Icelandic Embassy in Washington.
“We are very liberal in that sense,” he said. “It has never been an issue for her as a politician.”
An official, state biography for Siguroardottir on the English language section of the Icelandic government web site identifies Siguroardottir’s spouse as a woman: Jonina Leosdottir, a 54-year-old author and playwright.
Iceland legalized same-sex unions rather than marriage in 1996, giving such couples the same legal rights as opposite-sex married couples.
The biography says Siguroardottir began her career as a flight attendant with Icelandic Airlines in 1962. It says she went on to become a member of the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association board in 1966, and became the board’s chair in 1966. She served from 1976 to 1983 on the board of Iceland’s Commercial Workers’ Union.
She first won election to Iceland’s Parliament, or Althingi, in 1978, the biography says. She served as Iceland’s minister of social affairs, a parliamentary position, from 1987 to 1994. She returned to that post in May 2007, where she remained until now.
Siguroardottir has since served a number of important parliamentary committees, including the committee on foreign affairs, the committee on industry, and the committee on economy and trade.
The Icelandic Review, a daily English-language newspaper in Iceland, reported Tuesday that a national public opinion poll conducted in December found Siguroardottir to be the most popular minister in the country. Seventy-three percent of poll respondents indicated they were satisfied with her work, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper said Siguroardottir also was the only one of the country’s ministers — officials who head government departments or agencies — whose popularity had increased since a similar poll was taken one year earlier.
“If Sigurdaroadottir does become prime minister,” the Icelandic Review reported, “she will be the first woman to serve as prime minister in the country’s history and also the first openly gay prime minister in the world.”
Iceland’s government fell Monday, one week after Prime Minister Geir Haarde, faced with growing criticism over the state of the country’s economy, called for elections in May.
Under the country’s parliamentary system, the Icelandic president, who performs mostly ceremonial duties, and its leading political parties would negotiate an agreement on a caretaker government headed by an interim prime minister. Siguroardottir is expected to serve as interim prime minister until the May election.
The parties winning the largest percentage of votes in the election will decide on who the next permanent prime minister.
Sigurdsson, of the Icelandic Embassy in Washington, said Siguroardottir could be a contender for the permanent prime minister post depending on the number of votes her party receives.
Iceland to name lesbian prime minister
Politician to become world’s first openly gay head of government
By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade | Jan 27, 4:24 PM
Iceland’s lesbian minister of social affairs was expected to be chosen as the country’s caretaker prime minister later this week, making her the word’s first known openly gay head of government.
Johanna Siguroardottir, 66, a member of the Icelandic Parliament since 1978, was designated Tuesday by leaders of Iceland’s Social Democratic Alliance Party as the party’s choice for prime minister following the collapse of the country’s governing coalition Monday.
Siguroardottir, if ratified to become prime minister as expected by an interim coalition formed by the Social Democratic Alliance and other political parties, must grapple with rising unemployment and near chaos in the country’s banking system brought about by the worldwide financial crisis.
“If she is gay, that is not an issue at all,” said Olafur Sigurdsson, deputy chief of mission at the Icelandic Embassy in Washington.
“We are very liberal in that sense,” he said. “It has never been an issue for her as a politician.”
An official, state biography for Siguroardottir on the English language section of the Icelandic government web site identifies Siguroardottir’s spouse as a woman: Jonina Leosdottir, a 54-year-old author and playwright.
Iceland legalized same-sex unions rather than marriage in 1996, giving such couples the same legal rights as opposite-sex married couples.
The biography says Siguroardottir began her career as a flight attendant with Icelandic Airlines in 1962. It says she went on to become a member of the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association board in 1966, and became the board’s chair in 1966. She served from 1976 to 1983 on the board of Iceland’s Commercial Workers’ Union.
She first won election to Iceland’s Parliament, or Althingi, in 1978, the biography says. She served as Iceland’s minister of social affairs, a parliamentary position, from 1987 to 1994. She returned to that post in May 2007, where she remained until now.
Siguroardottir has since served a number of important parliamentary committees, including the committee on foreign affairs, the committee on industry, and the committee on economy and trade.
The Icelandic Review, a daily English-language newspaper in Iceland, reported Tuesday that a national public opinion poll conducted in December found Siguroardottir to be the most popular minister in the country. Seventy-three percent of poll respondents indicated they were satisfied with her work, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper said Siguroardottir also was the only one of the country’s ministers — officials who head government departments or agencies — whose popularity had increased since a similar poll was taken one year earlier.
“If Sigurdaroadottir does become prime minister,” the Icelandic Review reported, “she will be the first woman to serve as prime minister in the country’s history and also the first openly gay prime minister in the world.”
Iceland’s government fell Monday, one week after Prime Minister Geir Haarde, faced with growing criticism over the state of the country’s economy, called for elections in May.
Under the country’s parliamentary system, the Icelandic president, who performs mostly ceremonial duties, and its leading political parties would negotiate an agreement on a caretaker government headed by an interim prime minister. Siguroardottir is expected to serve as interim prime minister until the May election.
The parties winning the largest percentage of votes in the election will decide on who the next permanent prime minister.
Sigurdsson, of the Icelandic Embassy in Washington, said Siguroardottir could be a contender for the permanent prime minister post depending on the number of votes her party receives.
