Iceland's Lesbian Prime Minister, and the Politician Who Won't Have Dinner With Her

Iceland made history last year when the country became the first in the world with an openly LGBT head of state. That person is Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who with those letters might also have the most heavily punctuated name in the lexicon of world leaders. But while Sigurðardóttir might be hard to type, it certainly hasn't hurt her appeal. She's quite popular in the country, and in addition to tackling Iceland's economic woes (which were epic when she took office in early 2009), Sigurðardóttir has also helped usher marriage equality legislation through the country's legislative system. And in its ranking of most powerful women in the world, Forbes listed Sigurðardóttir in the top 100.

But despite her title, prestige, and clout, homophobia still plays a hand in her day-to-day life. Case in point, a state dinner in the small island nation of the Faroe Islands. Located between Iceland and the United Kingdom (and, in fact, they are a constituent country of Denmark), the Faroe Islands were a recent host to Sigurðardóttir, who traveled there on an official state visit with her wife.

As is standard operating procedure most times when a world leader visits, a state dinner was planned, and the leaders of the various political parties in the Faroe Islands were invited to attend. But in this case, one of the politicians invited, Jenis av Rana, who is chairman of the Christian-based and conservative Center Party, turned down the dinner invitation. Why? Because he doesn't want to share a meal with someone who is a lesbian.

Rana wrote a letter saying that he wouldn't "dream of attending such a banquet," and that Sigurðardóttir's visit to the island should be seen as all religious people as a "provocation" that counters the message of the Bible.

So much for a dinner without drama, eh?

For their part, numerous other political leaders in the Faroe Islands blasted Rana for suggesting that someone's sexual orientation could be seen as a provocation, and that Rana's personal beliefs, however entitled he may be to them, do not reflect the position of anyone in the government.

The leader of the country's Republican Party, Hoegni Hoydal, said that it was an honor for Sigurðardóttir and her wife to visit the country. More than that, Hoydal went on to note that the Faroe Islands have a deep sense of appreciation for Iceland, since it is one of the few countries that treat the Faroe Islands as equals.

Ah, irony.

Of course, lest anyone think that Rana speaks on behalf of every religious person in the Faroe Islands, take a look at this missive from Christian writer (and Faroe Islands resident) Arni Zachariassen. He apologized for any offense that Rana's comment may have made, and then offered an olive branch.

"I know that I speak for the majority of Faroese Christians when I say that you are more than welcome to visit our country and if the occasion arose, you and your wife both would be more than welcome to eat at our tables," Zachariassen wrote.

Now that's pretty pastoral. And I've no doubt that if Sigurðardóttir was given the opportunity, she'd invite Rana over to her residence for a nice meal, too.

*Editor's note: This article originally indicated an incorrect geographical location for the Faroe Islands. The writer has since been sent back to geography class, and the correct location of the Faroe Islands has been specified.

Photo credit: lgbtq-news.org