# Mayor of Reykjavík

The post of Mayor of Reykjavík (Icelandic: Borgarstjóri Reykjavíkur) 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 2008–11 Icelandic financial crisis.
The incumbent mayor is Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, who took office in 2025. Heiða's Social Democratic Alliance currently governs the city as the senior coalition partner with the People's Party, Pirate Party, Left-Green Movement and Socialist Party. As of 2024, Reykjavik has had 22 mayors including eighteen men and five women.

## List of mayors

| No. | Mayor | Took office | Left office | Duration | Party |
| 1 | Páll Einarsson (1868–1954) | 7 May 1908 | 1 July 1914 | 6 years (2,246 days) | Independent |
| 2 | Knud Zimsen (1875–1953) | 1 July 1914 | 30 December 1932 | 18 years, 7 months, 23 days (6,757 days) | Independent |
| 3 | Jón Þorláksson (1877–1935) | 30 December 1932 | 20 March 1935 | 2 years, 2 months, 20 days (810 days) | Independence Party |
| 4 | Pétur Halldórsson (1887–1940) | 20 March 1935 | 26 November 1940 | 5 years, 8 months, 6 days (2,078 days) | Independence Party |
| 5 | Bjarni Benediktsson (1908–1970) | 26 November 1940 | 10 February 1947 | 6 years, 2 months, 15 days (2,267 days) | Independence Party |
| 6 | Gunnar Thoroddsen (1910–1983) | 10 February 1947 | 19 November 1959 | 12 years, 9 months, 9 days (4,665 days) | Independence Party |
| 7 | Auður Auðuns (1911–1999) | 19 November 1959 | 6 October 1960 | 10 months, 17 days (322 days) | Independence Party |
| 8 | Geir Hallgrímsson (1925–1990) | 19 November 1959 | 1 December 1972 | 13 years, 12 days (4,761 days) | Independence Party |
| 9 | Birgir Ísleifur Gunnarsson (1936–2019) | 1 December 1972 | 15 August 1978 | 5 years, 8 months, 14 days (2,083 days) | Independence Party |
| 10 | Egill Skúli Ingibergsson (1926–2021) | 15 August 1978 | 27 May 1982 | 3 years, 9 months, 12 days (1,381 days) | Independent |
| 11 | Davíð Oddsson (b. 1948) | 27 May 1982 | 16 July 1991 | 9 years, 1 month, 19 days (3,337 days) | Independence Party |
| 12 | Markús Örn Antonsson (b. 1943) | 16 July 1991 | 17 March 1994 | 2 years, 8 months, 1 day (975 days) | Independence Party |
| 13 | Árni Sigfússon (b. 1956) | 17 March 1994 | 13 June 1994 | 2 months, 27 days (88 days) | Independence Party |
| 14 | Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir (b. 1954) | 13 June 1994 | 1 February 2003 | 8 years, 7 months, 19 days (3,155 days) | Reykjavík List |
| 15 | Þórólfur Árnason (b. 1957) | 1 February 2003 | 30 November 2004 | 1 year, 9 months, 29 days (668 days) | Reykjavík List |
| 16 | Steinunn Valdís Óskarsdóttir (b. 1965) | 30 November 2004 | 13 June 2006 | 1 year, 6 months, 14 days (560 days) | Reykjavík List |
| 17 | Vilhjálmur Þ. Vilhjálmsson (b. 1946) | 13 June 2006 | 16 October 2007 | 1 year, 4 months, 3 days (490 days) | Independence Party |
| 18 | Dagur B. Eggertsson (b. 1972) | 16 October 2007 | 24 January 2008 | 3 months, 8 days (100 days) | Social Democratic Alliance |
| 19 | Ólafur F. Magnússon (b. 1952) | 24 January 2008 | 21 August 2008 | 6 months, 28 days (210 days) | Liberal Party |
| 20 | Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir (b. 1966) | 21 August 2008 | 15 June 2010 | 1 year, 9 months, 25 days (663 days) | Independence Party |
| 21 | 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 Alliance |
| 22 | Einar Þorsteinsson (b. 1978) | 16 January 2024 | 21 February 2025 | 1 year, 36 days (402 days) | Progressive Party |
| 23 | Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir (b. 1971) | 21 February 2025 | Incumbent | 1 day (1 days) | Social Democratic Alliance |