Businesswoman beats comedian and professor to be Iceland president

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Halla Tomasdottir addressed supporters after the exit polls suggested she had won the presidential race./ Halldor Kolbeins/AFP

Businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir is set to become Iceland's new president, seeing off former prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, who critics claim was too political for the post.

Jakobsdottir conceded defeat early on Sunday and congratulated Tomasdottir, the CEO of The B Team, a global non-profit co-founded by UK business tycoon Richard Branson to promote business practises focused on humanity and the climate.

Iceland's president holds a largely ceremonial position in the parliamentary republic, acting as a guarantor of the constitution and national unity.

He or she does, however, have the power to veto legislation or submit it to a referendum.

Tomasdottir, 55, was officially credited with 34.6 percent of votes, after 71.6 percent of ballot papers had been counted on Sunday.

Former Icelandic PM Katrin Jakobsdottir (right) went head-to-head with Tomasdottir in Friday's debate in Reykjavik./ Halldor Kolbeins/AFP

The 48-year-old Jakobsdottir, who stepped down as prime minister of a left-right government in April to run in Saturday's election, secured 25 percent.

The results showed Tomasdottir with much stronger support than opinion polls had suggested in the run-up to the election, where the two candidates had been seen running neck-and-neck.

"It seems to me that Halla Tomasdottir is quickly heading towards becoming the next president of Iceland," Jakobsdottir told national broadcaster RUV at an election night rally. "I congratulate her on that and know that she will be a good president,"

Second woman president

During her electoin rally, Tomasdottir said: "I feel incredibly good. I know it's not over until it's over. So I'm also just trying to stay calm and breathe."

Tomasdottir is also the founder of Audur Capital, an investment firm created in 2007 aimed at promoting feminine values in the financial sector.

No one central issue dominated the campaign, where candidates traditionally run as independents without party affiliations. In the country of 380,000 people, any citizen gathering 1,500 signatures can run for office.

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While Jakobsdottir was often seen as the favorite, political observers suggested her background as prime minister could weigh against her. Among the other main candidates in the field of 13 were a political science professor, a comedian, and an Arctic and energy scholar.

Tomasdottir is set to be the second woman to serve as Iceland's president.

In 1980, Vigdis Finnbogadottir became the world's first woman democratically elected as head of state.

The businesswoman is set to succeed the hugely popular Gudni Johannesson, who has held the job since 2016. He announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election.

Jakobsdottir, party leader for the Left Green Movement from 2013 until her presidential bid, has been hailed for her handling of the resurgence in volcanic eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula since December.