Do we like them?

Do we like Halla Tómasdóttir?

Our score: 6 out of 10. Nothing harmful turned up, but the record I could read was thin, so this sits mid-scale rather than higher.

Before politics, Halla was a finance and business figure. She co-founded the financial firm Auður Capital and started an investment fund with Björk during Iceland's 2008 financial crisis. She also headed Iceland's chamber of commerce, then became chief executive of the B Team, a non-profit co-founded by Sir Richard Branson.

She first ran for president eight years before she won. In June 2024 she took just over 34% of the vote in a field that included former prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir. She was sworn in on 1 August 2024 as Iceland's seventh president and its second woman in the job, after Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.

The one stoush in the coverage I read is small. She was criticised over a Facebook post about a car dealership, and she said it showed a discount she received but that she didn't seek publicity for it. I found no court outcomes and no serious allegations in what I opened, but I didn't get to run the full set of searches.

On the harm check, nothing nasty turned up in what I could read. Her campaign focused on artificial intelligence, tourism and the effects of social media on mental health, and she gave a TED talk on applying “feminine values” to finance. I found no campaigning against any group and no dodgy company, but that is a thin read, not a clean bill.

The good stuff I could confirm is mostly her track record and her stated priorities. She told the press “Generational equality is important to me.” Running a Branson-co-founded non-profit and starting a fund with Björk is an interesting CV, but I couldn't verify a charity list or a pro-LGBTQ+ record beyond that.

Iceland's presidency is largely ceremonial, so there are no voting records to check the way you would for an MP. What you get is a figurehead who has used her platform to talk about equality and wellbeing. If you want the full goss, treat this as a first sketch and check her own statements as they come.