PM weds as gay marriage legalised in Iceland
June 30th, 2010 by Kaite.Welsh
After being elected Iceland’s first openly gay Prime Minister in January, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir celebrated the legalisation of same-sex marriage by by converting her civil union into a state-recognised marriage.
The law, passed earlier this month, came into force on Sunday, and the 67-year-old head of state submitted the paperwork that will transform the civil partnership she entered into in 2002 with author Jónína Leósdóttir into a marriage. A church gathering took place to celebrate the law, at which Sigurðardóttir’s aide made the announcement about her new marital status.
This was the second wedding for both the Prime Minister - who married the father of her two children, Þorvaldur Steinar Jóhannesson, in 1970 - and for Leósdóttir, who was previously married to political scientist Jón Ormur Halldórsson. It follows the announcement last week by the European court of human rights, who ruled unanimously that there was no obligation on EU states to recognise same-sex marriage.
Good article! What can I say? Ms Siguroardottir still looks rather bad-ass and the European court of human rights is made of fail. Unsurprised much? I thought so.
Claire ∼ June 30th, 2010 8:46 pm