Official ceremony of the Vigdis Prize for Women’s Empowerment 2024 PACE session
24. júní 2024 - speech by Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Minister of Social Affairs and the Labour Market in Iceland:

H.E. President of Iceland, President of the Assembly, Secretary General, distinguished Members of parliament, Ambassadors, dear guests. 

And dear Madame Vigdís,

Iceland held the presidency of the Council of Europe last year until May 2023. During our Presidency, we hosted the Reykjavík Summit, where the Council of Europe’s Head of States were invited and resulted in the Reykjavik Declaration being adopted. 

During the presidency, one of Iceland´s priority topic was equality. To accentuate that, Iceland´s government decided in the weeks leading up to the Reykjavik Summit to establish a new international gender equality prize in partnership with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; the Vigdís Prize for Women's Empowerment. 

The prize will be awarded annually for an outstanding action and contributions to the empowerment of women.

But why Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment? 

Madame Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, was the first woman worldwide to be elected as a Head of State in a democratic state in the year 1980. 

I was only three years old at that time, and I must admit that I do not remember the election day. But that turned out to be a big day in our history. A turning point. Those of us who grew up having Vigdís as our president, we all have some personal stories related to her. And here is mine:

I grew up on farm with a lot of animals, and it´s customary in the countryside to name animals after public figures. When Vigdís was elected, three baby horses were born at my farm, one of them a mare, a female horse. Of course she was named Vigdís, but always called Vigga, which is short for Vigdís. And my oh my, what a fierce and powerful horse. She jumped over fences, had a mind of her own and was very assertive. Very much like women who have had to fight for their place and for basic human rights.

For a little boy who did neither understand politics nor feminism, the most powerful horse was female and named after the president. 

My generation grew up having a female president. And that was the right thing. That was the norm.

The election of Vigdís was a gamechanger in Iceland when it comes to gender equality, both in politics and socially. Her election as the first woman elected Head of State, was unique and had a snowball-effect of encouraging more and more women to become active in political life. We had a role model in the highest position!

 It is important that little girls see that a president can be a woman. Similarly, it is important for a LGBTI+ kid, a child in wheelchair, or kids of immigrants to see themselves in a powerful positions. Role models are important for creating a fairer and more just societies, where everyone can belong.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is a national treasure in Iceland. She had the greatest influence on gender equality. It is therefore very fitting that the Prize for Women’s Empowerment is named after Vigdís and to pay her a tribute.

Dear guests.

The aim of the Vigdís Prize is to reward outstanding initiatives promoting the empowerment of women in all their diversity.

It has been estimated that if we continue on the same speed it will take 300 years to reach full gender equality. That is unacceptable.

Iceland has sometimes been called a champion of gender equality. Yet, let´s not forget that full gender equality has not been reached, not in Iceland, not around the world.

However, today we celebrate, today we feel proud, tomorrow we continue the fight.

Thank you.