Guðni has worked as a lecturer at the
University of Iceland,
Bifröst University and
University of London. From 2011 to 2015, Guðni was president of
Sögufélag, the Icelandic historical society.
Presidential candidacy Guðni decided to stand for president on 5 May 2016. Before his candidacy, he had appeared frequently on live television to provide commentary and historical context in the wake of the publication of the
Panama Papers, which created a scandal for Icelandic prime minister
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and ultimately led to his ouster. A scholar of the Icelandic presidency, Guðni delineated on live television the options available to incumbent president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and other Icelandic political actors. Guðni was unaffiliated with any of Iceland's political parties. He said he would be a "less political president" than his predecessor due to a lack of partisanship. after winning the most votes in
that year's election, 71,356 (39.1%). At 48, he was Iceland's youngest president. Early in his term, Guðni had to oversee negotiations to form a government in Iceland in the wake of the
2016 Icelandic parliamentary election on 29 October. These negotiations were difficult, as no pre-election coalition had a majority, and all possible majority coalitions had parties with highly divergent policy positions. In December 2016, Guðni had approval ratings of 97%. Such high approval ratings for Icelandic politicians are without precedent. In April 2019, his approval rating was 93.5% among those who took a position in a survey. In the
2020 presidential election, Guðni was re-elected with 92.2% of the vote. On 1 January 2024, Guðni announced in his New Year's address to the Icelandic people that he would not stand for election again in
2024. ==Personal life==