WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson will speak at Williams College on the topic "Cool Iceland: The Fascinating Challenges and Opportunities of Being a Small State" on Wednesday, Nov. 9, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance.

 

The program is open to all and admission is free. During the event, the Williams College Chamber Choir will also perform a selection of Icelandic songs in the president's honor.

 

Visitors are expected to be fully vaccinated, and masks will be required. The evening's program will also be publicly viewable by live stream at https://youtu.be/Qt5K-7jKe6Y at no charge. This event is open to the public.

 

President of Iceland since 2016, Guðni Jóhannesson is Iceland's head of state and the country's only representative chosen by the entire electorate in a direct election. During his tenure he has actively promoted clean energy and helped lead global discussions about the future of the arctic region. He has also become known for bringing a common touch to the presidency by making his work open and accessible to the public. He was re-elected in 2020 with more than 90 percent of the national vote.

 

Before his election, Jóhannesson was professor of history and philosophy at the University of Iceland, where he specialized in studying Icelandic foreign relations and contemporary history. He has continued his scholarly work while serving as head of state: his numerous books in English and Icelandic include influential work on the "Cod Wars", a series of struggles over fishing rights in the North Atlantic, in which Iceland prevailed over the United Kingdom after threatening to withdraw from The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

 

This event is co-sponsored by the Williams College Programs in Global Studies and Leadership Studies, and the college's Lecture Committee, W. Ford Schumann '50 Program in Democratic Studies, Class of '46 Memorial Fund for World Brotherhood and Office of the College President.

 

President Jóhannesson's visit is part of a varied schedule of cultural, arts and athletic events open to the public at Williams every year. For details about the full calendar of happenings, please visit http://events.williams.edu.