President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is number 18 on the Washington Post’s list of longest-serving heads of state, published on Tuesday.
Ólafur Ragnar has been president since 1996, a total 18 years.
At the top of the list is President of Cameroon Paula Biya, who has been in power since 1982. The leaders of Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Zimbabwe and Iran are also in the top five. President of Russia Vladimir Putin has been in power for 15 consecutive years, which includes his time as prime minister.
Ólafur Ragnar has said that he will complete his current term in office, which ends in July 2016, but has not indicated whether or not he will run again. He had initially suggested that he may not complete the current term. The constitution does not limit the number of terms the president is allowed to serve.
According to a poll published by Fréttablaðið on the weekend, nine percent of respondents said they would like to see Ólafur Ragnar continue after his current term. Meanwhile, 47 percent said they would like to see former Reykjavík Mayor Jón Gnarr elected.
The role of President of Iceland is a largely symbolic one.
