Iceland set to appoint world's first lesbian PM

Updated on: 29 January,2009 08:30 AM IST |
Agencies |

Iceland's next leader will be an openly gay former flight attendant who parlayed her experience as a union organiser into a decades-long political career.

milestone: Johanna Sigurdardottir used to be a flight attendant. pic/ap

Both parties forming Iceland's new coalition government support the appointment of Johanna Sigurdardottir, the island nation's 66-year-old social affairs minister, as Iceland's interim prime minister.

"Now we need a strong government that works with the people," said Sigurdardottir on Wednesday.

Sigurdardottir will lead until new elections are held, likely in May. But analysts say she's unlikely to remain in office chiefly because her centre-left Social Democratic Alliance isn't expected to rank among the major parties after the election.

In opinion polls, it trails the Left-Green movement, a junior partner in the new coalition.

Iceland's previous conservative-led government failed on Monday after the country's banks collapsed last fall under the weight of huge debts amassed during years of rapid economic growth. The country's currency has since plummeted, while inflation and unemployment are soaring.

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Former prime minister Geir Haarde won't lead his Independence Party into the new elections because he needs treatment for throat cancer.

While Haarde endured angry protests for months and had his limousine pelted with eggs, polling company Capacent Gallup said Sigurdardottir was Iceland's most popular politician in November, with an approval rating of 73 per cent.

"It's a question of trust, people believe that she actually cares about people," said Olafur Hardarson, a political scientist at the University of Iceland.

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