When Vigdis Finnbogadottir became president of Iceland in 1980, no woman had ever before been democratically elected as head of state – anywhere in world. As if that weren’t enough, it was  also considered strange for an unmarried woman and single mother to serve in such an office. Readers get a look below the surface as Vigdis shares her thoughts on the role of a head of state and the various tasks that go along with it.

Alone in the President’s Chair by Steinunn Sigurdardottir was first published in the fall of 1988 and garnered much attention, as for the first time people got a glimpse into the daily life of the president. In her book, Steinunn describes with considerable insight seven days in the life of Vigdis: travels both abroad and domestically, state dinners and meetings, internal squabbles, child  rearing and her sparse free time. The book is now being reissued, with minor revisions and a new introduction and epilogue by the author, to mark the 90 years since Vigdis’ birth and the 40 years  since she was elected president of Iceland.