World's First Female Gay Premier inIceland Johanna Sigurdardottir

A former flight attendant who entered politics via the union movement, Sigurdardottir was minister of social affairs and social security in the outgoing Cabinet, which resigned Monday.

Iceland has been in political turmoil since October, when its currency, stock market and leading banks collapsed amid the global financial crisis. The island nation's Nordic neighbors sent billions of dollars to prop up the economy, as did the International Monetary Fund in its first intervention to support a Western European democracy in decades.

But weekly demonstrations -- some verging on riots -- finally forced Prime Minister Geir Haarde and his coalition to resign en masse on January 26.

The country's president turned to the Social Democratic Alliance party to form a new government, and they selected Sigurdardottir to lead it.

She has been a member of Iceland's Parliament for 30 years, and was in her second term as minister of social affairs. She started her career as a flight attendant for the airline that became IcelandAir. She was active in the flight attendants' labor union during her 11 years with the airline, according to her official resume.

She briefly led her own political party, which merged with other center-left parties to form the Alliance party.

Johanna Sigurdardottir - World First Gay Premier

"She has credible compassion with those less well off and a willingness to improve their lot," said her then rival Jon Baldvin Hannibalsson. But in an interview with the daily Morgunbladid, he added: "She is a loner, focused but narrow minded."

She formed her own party in 1995, but was back with the Social Democrats in 2000, and rejoined the government as social affairs minister in 2007.

She is now Iceland's longest-serving MP. In a Gallup poll in December, 73% of respondents said they were happy with her work. On the streets of Reykjavik people wish her well. "I've never heard anything suspicious about her," said Jenny Hauksdottir, a waitress. "A customer brought me a T-shirt tonight with the caption: 'My time has come'. He felt we have both been around for a long time."

"She's a very nice woman. Fair and hardworking. She's one of us," added Erna Kaaber, self-employed owner of Icelandic Fish and Chips.

Johanna's time was a long time coming in her private life as well. At the age of 60, she married Jonina Leosdottir, a writer, in a civil ceremony in 2002. (Don't expect them to show up togetherfor photocalls, however – that's not the Icelandic way. Though she is famous across the island, having been a top politician for years, her lesbian union was no big deal in this calmly progressive nation of only 300,000 people.) She was previously married to a banker, Torvaldur Johannesson, with whom she has two adult sons. She first became a mother at 30, and again at 35.

The same year that she entered parliament, the National Organisation of Lesbians and Gay Men in Iceland was formed, called Samtokin 78 in honour of their founding year. Their aim was to combat the prejudice and discrimination that was forcing many gay men and women to leave the country. Since then it has been making steady progress – same-sex marriages became legal in 1996. Indeed, a recent conference on 14 January posed the question: "Is there no closet any more?"

She is Iceland's first female prime minister. Iceland has previously had a female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, who was elected in 1980. She served until 1996. Johanna will be the first gay prime minister anywhere.