If countries were ranked on a Global Coolness Index, Iceland would certainly come out on top, and the mayor of Reykjavik, J?n Gnarr, has a lot to do with that. The Nordic nation is already cool enough, pun intended: it has the second highest quality of life in the world according to the Economist Intelligence Index and has extremely low income inequality; J?hanna Sigur?ard?ttir, elected in 2009, is Iceland’s first female prime minister and also the world’s first openly gay head of government;?same-sex marriage has been legal since 2010; the country is home to more writers and artists per capita than any other nation, which might contribute to the fact that its citizens watch more cinema than any other nation; and unlike the U.S., which bails its banks out even though their greed and recklessness are mostly to blame for the 2008 housing crash, Iceland jailed the bankers whose risky loans almost brought financial ruin to the country.
But enough about Iceland! Let’s talk about J?n Gnarr, the hip mayor of the nation’s capital. Many of the following images come courtesy of?Messy Nessy Chic.
To set the tone of how cool this guy is, watch his campaign video, which has more YouTube views than there are Icelanders.
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Before entering politics, Gnarr was a successful actor and comedian. Before that, he was a member of a punk rock band called Runny Nose, which once toured with?Bj?rk.
In 2009, he and some of his buddies jokingly founded The Best Party as a knock against traditional politics. As opposed to all other parties, they promised to be?openly corrupt, acknowledging that they had no intentions of keeping their pre-election promises, which included the building of a new Disneyland.
His humor and openness handily and unexpectedly won him the election.
Gnarr’s success comes despite the fact that, as a child, he was diagnosed with mental retardation and treated at?the State Hospital at Dalbraut, Reykjav?k.
His favorite TV series is?The Wire. He declared that he wouldn’t work with anyone politically who had not watched it. Here he is with?The Wire‘s Clark Peter
And here he is dressed as a Jedi and standing next to Lady Gaga:
All joking aside, Gnarr is a much-loved city leader and admirer of Banksy.
No mincer of words, he is a strong supporter of the LGBT community.
Like another famous mayor, Rudy Guiliani, he has dressed in drag for gay pride parades.
And he fully supports the freeing of members of the all-female Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot, some of whose members were arrested and imprisoned for their stance on feminism and homosexuality.
He leads by example when it comes to cleaning up the city. Here’s one of his posts on his popular Facebook fanpage:
J?n Gnarr’s success and popularity have even led to a documentary called?Gnarr. You can watch the trailer here:
American politicians could learn a lot from J?n Gnarr’s honesty, humor, and compassion. Who’s interested in moving to?Reykjavik now?
