Mayor of Reykjavík

The office of mayor of Reykjavík () was created in 1907 and advertised in 1908. Páll Einarsson and Knud Zimsen applied for the job and Páll got the position for a period of six years, at the end of which he did not wish to renew his tenure. Rather than a direct election, Reykjavík City Council members elect the mayor from within their ranks.

Between 1932 and 1994 the centre-right Independence Party dominated Reykjavík municipal politics, but since then other parties have been more competitive. During the 2006–2010 term four people held the mayor position, due to an unprecedented amount of instability in Reykjavík's municipal coalition government caused in part by the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis.

The incumbent mayor is Hildur Björnsdóttir, who took office in 2026. The city is governed by a coalition of the Independence Party, Reform Party (Viðreisn), and Progressive Party, which took office following the 2026 Reykjavík City Council election. As of 2026, Reykjavík has had 24 mayors, including 18 men and 6 women.

List of mayors No. PortraitMayor Took office Left office Duration Party1 Páll Einarsson(1868–1954) 7 May 1908 1 July 1914 6 years(2,246 days) Independent2 Knud Zimsen(1875–1953) 1 July 1914 30 December 1932 18 years, 7 months, 23 days(6,757 days) Independent3 Jón Þorláksson(1877–1935) 30 December 1932 20 March 1935 2 years, 2 months, 20 days(810 days) Independence Party4 Pétur Halldórsson(1887–1940) 20 March 1935 26 November 1940 5 years, 8 months, 6 days(2,078 days) Independence Party5 Bjarni Benediktsson(1908–1970) 26 November 1940 10 February 1947 6 years, 2 months, 15 days(2,267 days) Independence Party6 Gunnar Thoroddsen(1910–1983) 10 February 1947 19 November 1959 12 years, 9 months, 9 days(4,665 days) Independence Party7 Auður Auðuns(1911–1999)19 November 1959 6 October 1960 10 months, 17 days(322 days) Independence Party8 Geir Hallgrímsson(1925–1990) 1 December 1972 13 years, 12 days(4,761 days) Independence Party9 Birgir Ísleifur Gunnarsson(1936–2019) 1 December 1972 15 August 1978 5 years, 8 months, 14 days(2,083 days) Independence Party10 Egill Skúli Ingibergsson(1926–2021) 15 August 1978 27 May 1982 3 years, 9 months, 12 days(1,381 days) Independent11 Davíð Oddsson(1948–2026) 27 May 1982 16 July 1991 9 years, 1 month, 19 days(3,337 days) Independence Party12 Markús Örn Antonsson(b. 1943) 16 July 1991 17 March 1994 2 years, 8 months, 1 day(975 days) Independence Party13 Árni Sigfússon(b. 1956) 17 March 1994 13 June 1994 2 months, 27 days(88 days) Independence Party14 Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir(b. 1954) 13 June 1994 1 February 2003 8 years, 7 months, 19 days(3,155 days) Reykjavík List15 Þórólfur Árnason(b. 1957) 1 February 2003 30 November 2004 1 year, 9 months, 29 days(668 days) Reykjavík List16 Steinunn Valdís Óskarsdóttir(b. 1965) 30 November 2004 13 June 2006 1 year, 6 months, 14 days(560 days) Reykjavík List17 Vilhjálmur Þ. Vilhjálmsson(b. 1946) 13 June 2006 16 October 2007 1 year, 4 months, 3 days(490 days) Independence Party18 Dagur B. Eggertsson(b. 1972) 16 October 2007 24 January 2008 3 months, 8 days(100 days) Social Democratic Alliance19 Ólafur F. Magnússon(b. 1952) 24 January 2008 21 August 2008 6 months, 28 days(210 days) Liberal Party20 Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir(b. 1966) 21 August 2008 15 June 2010 1 year, 9 months, 25 days(663 days) Independence Party21 Jón Gnarr(b. 1967) 15 June 2010 16 June 2014 4 years, 2 days(1,463 days) Best Party(18) Dagur B Eggertsson(b. 1972) 16 June 2014 16 January 2024 9 years, 7 months, 1 day(3,502 days) Social Democratic Alliance22 Einar Þorsteinsson(b. 1978) 16 January 2024 21 February 2025 1 year, 36 days(402 days) Progressive Party23 Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir(b. 1971) 21 February 2025 2 June 2026 1 year, 101 days(466 days) Social Democratic Alliance24 Hildur Björnsdóttir(b. 1986) 2 June 2026 Incumbent Independence Party

Mayor of Reykjavík

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