Minn tími mun koma!

A former airline attendant who became interested in politics by way of unions, presiding on boards of various airline related trade unions before being elected to the Althing in 1978 as a Social Democrat. Much like in the U.S., Iceland has spent the last 40 years becoming increasingly conservative politically and so Sigurdardóttir found herself in the opposition party again and again. In 1994 she ran to be the leader of the party and lost, leading her to say her equivalent of "Change is coming!", "Minn tími mun koma!" ("My time will come!").

With “Our time (finally) has come!” said Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, the 66 year-old newly elected Prime Minister of Iceland, who just happens to be the world's first openly gay national elected leader.

However, her appointment marks a historic milestone for the gay and lesbian community worldwide. She lives with a journalist, Jonina Leosdottir, with whom she was joined in a 2002 civil partnership, and has two sons from a previous marriage.

It is also a significant personal triumph for a politician who managed to retain, and even increase, her popularity while much of Iceland's political class were pilloried over the financial crisis engulfing the country. A real challenge…