POLITICIANS from Faroe Islands

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Politicians of all time. This list of famous Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Kaj Leo Johannesen (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 47.61, Kaj Leo Johannesen is the most famous Politician.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages on wikipedia.

Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen (born 28 August 1964 in Tórshavn) is a Faroese politician. He was the prime minister of the Faroe Islands, representing the Faroese Unionist Party (Sambandsflokkurin). He took office, succeeding Jóannes Eidesgaard on 26 September 2008 and left office on 15 September 2015, after his party and coalition with Fólkaflokkurin and Miðflokkurin lost the general election on 1 September 2015. Johannesen is also a former international football player; he was goalkeeper for the Faroe Islands national football team. In the Faroese parliamentary elections, held on 29 October 2011 Kaj Leo Johannesen received 1979 personal votes. This is the largest number of personal votes ever given to a Faroese parliament candidate. He held this record until the general election 2015, when Aksel V. Johannesen received 2405 personal votes. At the same election Kaj Leo Johannesen received 603 personal votes.

2. Jóannes Eidesgaard (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 44.35, Jóannes Eidesgaard is the 2nd most famous Politician.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Jóannes Dan Eidesgaard (born 19 April 1951) is a former Faroese politician. He was the prime minister of the Faroe Islands from 2004, starting shortly after the general election of 20 January 2004, until 26 September 2008, when a new coalition took office. He served as finance minister from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Danish Folketing representing the Faroe Islands from 11 March 1998 until 20 November 2001.

3. Marita Petersen (1940 - 2001)

With an HPI of 43.98, Marita Petersen is the 3rd most famous Politician.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Marita Petersen (Faroese pronunciation: [ˌmɛaɹɪta ˈpʰeːʰtɛɹsɛn]) (née Johansen (Faroese pronunciation: [ˌjoˈhanːsɛn]); 21 October 1940 – 26 August 2001) was the first and to date only female Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands and the first female speaker of the Løgting (Parliament). She was elected to the Løgting in 1988 for Javnaðarflokkurin (The Social Democratic Party). In January 1993, she was elected to the post of prime minister, which she held until September 1994. Later, she became chairman of the parliament from 1994 to 1995. She was Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands in a very difficult time with economic crisis. Marita Petersen died of cancer in 2001.

4. Bárður á Steig Nielsen (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 35.10, Bárður á Steig Nielsen is the 4th most famous Politician.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Bárður á Steig Nielsen (Faroese pronunciation: [ˌbɔ͡ɑɹʊɹ ɔ͡ɑ ˈsta͡ɪ ˈnɪlsɛn]; born 16 April 1972) is a Faroese politician and businessman who serves as leader of the Union Party since 2015 and was prime minister from 2019 to 2022. He is also goalkeeper of the VÍF Vestmanna handball team and a former handball player of the Faroe Islands national team.