President Elect Guðni Th. Jóhannesson plans to publish a book on the history of the presidency on December 1, RÚV reports. Guðni has been working on the book for quite some time, and most of the work was completed by the time he announced his candidacy for president this spring. Guðni will be inaugurated August 1.
Originally, the book was to be published before the presidential election in June. CEO of the publishing company Forlagið, Egill Örn Jóhannson, stated, “It was originally meant to be an input into the discussion during the campaign.”
The day of publication will be December 1, but on that day in 1918, Iceland became a sovereign state.
This will not be the first time a president in office publishes a book. President Kristján Eldjárn did so, too.
Egill agrees it is unusual for a sitting president to publish a book about his own office. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Guðni changed some traditions and customs of the presidential office,” he remarked.
Guðni, who is a historian, has published numerous historical works, and has twice been nominated for the Icelandic Literary Award.
