Former Miss World Linda Pétursdóttir is seriously considering running for president, the local news site visir.is reports. Linda Pétursdóttir, who was crowned Miss World in 1988, ran a bath house and spa, which closed down in 2014, has reportedly been thinking about this option for a while. According to visir.is a number of people have contacted her, encouraging her to run, while a group of supporters has been meeting to prepare a possible presidential run.
A presidency modelled on the first woman democratically elected as head of state
A spokesman for the preparatory group, animal rights lawyer Árni Stefán Árnason, tells visir.is that Linda wishes to use her fame and energy to do good, both in Iceland and abroad. Árni adds that Linda would like to model her presidency on that of former president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who became the first woman elected head of state in 1980.
Vigdís served as four terms, retiring in 1996, is frequently contrasted to current president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. During his five terms in office Ólafur has greatly expanded the power of the presidency, taking a more active role in Icelandic politics, frequently in a manner which has polarized the electorate. Linda would instead seek to be a unifying symbol for the nation, Árni Stefán tells visir.is.
Former Miss World Linda Pétursdóttir is seriously considering running for president, the local news site visir.is reports. Linda Pétursdóttir, who was crowned Miss World in 1988, ran a bath house and spa, which closed down in 2014, has reportedly been thinking about this option for a while. According to visir.is a number of people have contacted her, encouraging her to run, while a group of supporters has been meeting to prepare a possible presidential run.
A presidency modelled on the first woman democratically elected as head of state
A spokesman for the preparatory group, animal rights lawyer Árni Stefán Árnason, tells visir.is that Linda wishes to use her fame and energy to do good, both in Iceland and abroad. Árni adds that Linda would like to model her presidency on that of former president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who became the first woman elected head of state in 1980.
Vigdís served as four terms, retiring in 1996, is frequently contrasted to current president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. During his five terms in office Ólafur has greatly expanded the power of the presidency, taking a more active role in Icelandic politics, frequently in a manner which has polarized the electorate. Linda would instead seek to be a unifying symbol for the nation, Árni Stefán tells visir.is.
