Iceland has voted in a new government, and with it, the world’s first openly gay national leader – 66 year old Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir.

“Our time has come!” said Sigurdardóttir to a cheering crowd on Sunday. “The nation is settling the score with the neo-liberalism, with the Independence Party, who have been in power for much too long.”

Social Democrat Sigurdardóttir will lead a coalition with the Left-Green party. According to The Times, together they have an absolute majority, a first for a left-wing government in Iceland, and a massive shift for the country which was almost driven to the brink of financial collapse under the previous conservative government.

Sigurdardóttir has a hard road ahead, managing the economic crisis, and battling divisions over whether Iceland should join the European Union.

“If we apply immediately for EU membership we will be able to adopt the euro within four years,” said Sigurdardóttir.

However, some are opposed to the idea because it would mean opening up valuable territorial waters to other EU fishing fleets. Iceland’s fishing industry is one of the country’s most valuable sources of income – in 2008 it made up 36.6% of exports.