Former Iceland president Jóhannesson visits Cornell for Messenger lectures

Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, former President of Iceland (2016-2024) and current Professor of History at the University of Iceland, visited Cornell University last week to deliver three Messenger Lectures, reflecting on his experience as Iceland's head of state and the changing geopolitical and cultural landscape of Iceland.

The Messenger Lectureship Series, established in 1924, brings to campus an outstanding range of researchers and innovators from across the disciplines. Jóhannesson was nominated and hosted by James Patton Rogers, Executive Director of the Tech Policy Institute at the Brooks School.

"I was very pleased to be invited to Cornell, a university with a strong connection to Iceland's literary tradition, to discuss a range of matters, including the strategic importance of my region. As a professor myself, I hope that we can continue to engage our students with the academic rigor needed to create an informed society, but also with the appetite and appreciation for public service," Jóhannesson said.

In his first lecture, "My Fellow Citizens: The Need for National Unity and the Positive Role of Heads of State," President Jóhannesson reflected on his eight years as Iceland's head of state and the delicate balance between leadership, neutrality, and unity. A historian by training, he reflected on how academic habits of critical thinking can both help and hinder those in positions of power. Drawing on experience from Iceland's presidency, he discussed how heads of state can nurture optimism and cohesion in divided times, while remaining truthful and principled in a world often dominated by spin, spectacle, and partisanship.

During his second lecture "Greenland: The Last Colony in Europe", President Jóhannesson explored Greenland's complex path from colony to emerging nation. Drawing on Iceland's own experience of gaining independence from Denmark, he examined the historical ties, political tensions, and geopolitical stakes that shape Greenland's future amid growing great-power interest in the Arctic. The lecture offered a unique perspective from Iceland, Europe's closest neighbour to Greenland, on questions of sovereignty, self-determination, and small-state resilience in an era of global change.

"President Jóhannesson has the unique experience of being an academic historian and a past head of state. His reflections and insights on his country and region during a time of geopolitical and cultural change are truly valuable and we look forward to hosting him and benefiting from the discussions," said Rogers.

Over the course of his time at Cornell, Jóhannesson also took time to join students and faculty for a series of meetings and representatives from industry for a briefing on Cornell's deep geothermal heat research. He also delivered the opening remarks for a geopolitical simulation, held in partnership with the Homeland Defense Institute and Aerospace Adversary Lab. The exercise was part of a cybersecurity and aerospace systems course taught by Gregory Falco, assistant professor in the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering and senior fellow in the Cornell Brooks School Tech Policy Institute.

In his third and final lecture, "History of Iceland", Jóhannesson explored the tension between storytelling and scholarship. Drawing on his own work developing a major documentary series on Iceland's history, he asked whether entertainment and education can ever truly align, and what happens when the need to captivate audiences threatens to rewrite the past itself.