The One and only Vigdis

#5 In regards to the Icelandic leader that you researched, what did you learn while we were in the country that helped you understand him or her in more depth?

Throughout the entire time the team was in Iceland, not once did I find a picture or drawing of Vigdis Finnbogadotir and that surprised me more than anything. It wasn’t the fact that we were fed raw reindeer or that hotdogs are considered a delicacy, it was that Vigdis’s image was not plastered on every single wall and billboard sign. She was the first democratically elected female that Iceland had ever had, beating out three male competitors for the presidency, and then she continued to be president for sixteen years. Despite the fact that her picture couldn’t be found or maybe because of it, I learned that Vigdis was truly one of the people: she worked for them and took their needs into consideration and didn’t work toward a personal agenda. I think the reason she wasn’t everywhere was that she was expected to work for the people, while in the U.S. most citizens know that there are lobbyists in the government and that they work to advantage themselves and big businesses. Due to her election to office, more women followed suit and made history themselves. While traveling the country I saw that the men did not outnumber the women in positions of authority, but that they were equal to each other. Because the number of citizens is so small, everyone in a town or village is needed to help get jobs done, leading to a more gender egalitarian society. This was the type of world Vigdis was born into, a world where anyone can be anything, no matter what their gender is. While walking the streets of Reykjavik I couldn’t help but wonder if Vigdis had walked these same streets just like me, dreaming of what she could do to change the world.Read more