Mayor of Reykjavík

Mayor of Reykjavík
Borgarstjóri Reykjavíkur
Municipal coat of arms
since 16 January 2024
Reykjavík City Council
SeatReykjavík
Term lengthFour years
Renewable indefinitely with the support of the Reykjavík City Council.
Constituting instrumentLocal Government Act
Formation1907
First holderJón Þorláksson
DeputyÞorsteinn Gunnarsson
Salary1,976,025 ISK monthly (2021)[1]
Websitereykjavik.is/en (in English)
reykjavik.is (in Icelandic)

The post of Mayor of Reykjavík (Icelandic: Borgarstjóri Reykjavíkur) was created in 1907 and advertised in 1908. Páll Einarsson and Knud Zimsen applied for the job and Páll got the position for a period of six years, at the end of which he did not wish to renew his tenure. Rather than a direct election, Reykjavík City Council members elect the mayor from within their ranks.

Between 1932 and 1994 the centre-right Independence Party dominated Reykjavík municipal politics, but since then other parties have been more competitive. During the 2006-2010 term four people held the mayor position, due to an unprecedented amount of instability in Reykjavík's municipal coalition government caused in part by the 2008–11 Icelandic financial crisis.

The incumbent mayor is Einar Þorsteinsson, who took office in 2024. Einar's Progressive Party currently governs the city as the senior coalition partner with the Social Democratic Alliance, Pirate Party, and Reform. As of 2024, Reykjavik has had 22 mayor including eighteen men and four women.

List of mayors

No. Portrait Mayor Took office Left office Duration Party
1 Páll Einarsson
(1868–1954) 		7 May 1908 1 July 1914 6 years
(2,246 days) 		Independent
2 Knud Zimsen
(1875–1953) 		1 July 1914 30 December 1932 18 years, 7 months, 23 days
(6,757 days) 		Independent
3 Jón Þorláksson
(1877–1935) 		30 December 1932 20 March 1935 2 years, 2 months, 20 days
(810 days) 		Independence Party
4 Pétur Halldórsson
(1887–1940) 		20 March 1935 26 November 1940 5 years, 8 months, 6 days
(2,078 days) 		Independence Party
5 Bjarni Benediktsson
(1908–1970) 		26 November 1940 10 February 1947 6 years, 2 months, 15 days
(2,267 days) 		Independence Party
6 Gunnar Thoroddsen
(1910–1983) 		10 February 1947 19 November 1959 12 years, 9 months, 9 days
(4,665 days) 		Independence Party
7 Auður Auðuns
(1911–1999) 		19 November 1959 6 October 1960 10 months, 17 days
(322 days) 		Independence Party
8 Geir Hallgrímsson
(1925–1990) 		1 December 1972 13 years, 12 days
(4,761 days) 		Independence Party
9 Birgir Ísleifur Gunnarsson
(1936–2019) 		1 December 1972 15 August 1978 5 years, 8 months, 14 days
(2,083 days) 		Independence Party
10 Egill Skúli Ingibergsson
(1926–2021) 		15 August 1978 27 May 1982 3 years, 9 months, 12 days
(1,381 days) 		Independent
11 Davíð Oddsson
(b. 1948) 		27 May 1982 16 July 1991 9 years, 1 month, 19 days
(3,337 days) 		Independence Party
12 Markús Örn Antonsson
(b. 1943) 		16 July 1991 17 March 1994 2 years, 8 months, 1 day
(975 days) 		Independence Party
13 Árni Sigfússon
(b. 1956) 		17 March 1994 13 June 1994 2 months, 27 days
(88 days) 		Independence Party
14 Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir
(b. 1954) 		13 June 1994 1 February 2003 8 years, 7 months, 19 days
(3,155 days) 		Reykjavík List
15 Þórólfur Árnason
(b. 1957) 		1 February 2003 30 November 2004 1 year, 9 months, 29 days
(668 days) 		Reykjavík List
16 Steinunn Valdís Óskarsdóttir
(b. 1965) 		30 November 2004 13 June 2006 1 year, 6 months, 14 days
(560 days) 		Reykjavík List
17 Vilhjálmur Þ. Vilhjálmsson
(b. 1946) 		13 June 2006 16 October 2007 1 year, 4 months, 3 days
(490 days) 		Independence Party
18 Dagur B. Eggertsson
(b. 1972) 		16 October 2007 24 January 2008 3 months, 8 days
(100 days) 		Social Democratic Alliance
19 Ólafur F. Magnússon
(b. 1952) 		24 January 2008 21 August 2008 6 months, 28 days
(210 days) 		Liberal Party
20 Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir
(b. 1966) 		21 August 2008 15 June 2010 1 year, 9 months, 25 days
(663 days) 		Independence Party
21 Jón Gnarr
(b. 1967) 		15 June 2010 16 June 2014 4 years, 2 days
(1,463 days) 		Best Party
(18) Dagur B Eggertsson
(b. 1972) 		16 June 2014 16 January 2024 9 years, 7 months, 1 day
(3,502 days) 		Social Democratic Alliance
22 Einar Þorsteinsson
(b. 1978) 		16 January 2024 Incumbent 347 days
(347 days) 		Progressive Party

See also

References

  1. ^ "Laun og kostnaðargreiðslur borgarfulltrúa". 30 January 2019.