Not only is Johanna Sigurdardottir the world's first openly gay prime minister, she is also Iceland's first female leader, but in this case that takes second place.
From Towleroad:
"She began her political career as a union organizer with the national airline, now known as Icelandair, where she had worked more than 30 years ago as a flight attendant. She has two sons with her former husband, a banker, and six grandchildren. Ms. Sigurdardottir established a civil partnership in 2002 with Jonina Leosdottir, 54, an author, playwright and journalist. She, too, is a divorced mother. Although Ms. Sigurdardottir’s rise has drawn widespread attention on Web sites for gay men and lesbians outside Iceland, her relationship is considered unremarkable at home. In 1940, while still a dependency of Denmark, Iceland decriminalized gay sex. It approved civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1996, one of the first countries to do so. 'Iceland is a small society, and the public knows what Sigurdardottir stands for as a politician, and that’s the only thing that is important,' said Frosti Jonsson, a spokesman for Iceland’s National Association of Queers. 'Nowadays, not only does Iceland have one of the most progressive legal environments for gay people, there have also been changes in public attitudes towards gay people. It simply isn’t an issue anymore.'"WOW!
This is great news for two reasons. First, there always needs to be a first at some point, and this is it, however long her administration lasts.
Second, this woman looks like a solid candidate and a "clean" politician, if there ever was one. She doesn't strike me as someone who's got many scheletons in her past, which is a very good thing when you're carrying the torch for all the gays and lesbians in the world.
We'll be watching her progress. Good luck!
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