Guðni Jóhannesson, a history professor, has won Iceland’s presidential election in a vote held in the aftermath of the Panama Papers leak in April, which implicated several top Icelandic officials. Jóhannesson’s victory, won with 39.1% of the vote. Halla Tómasdóttir, a businesswoman without party affiliation, came second with 27.9%.

Iceland’s president holds a largely ceremonial position, acting as a guarantor of the constitution and national unity. Legislative elections are due in the autumn. Jóhannesson will now replace Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, 73, who served 20 years as head of state.

Iceland has been gradually recovering from the 2008 financial meltdown in recent years. Economic growth is expected to reach 4 percent this year and unemployment is at a pre-crisis levels. But gross national income per capita is still down by a quarter since 2007 and a tenth of the 330,000 Icelanders have fallen into serious loan default, with thousands of homes repossessed.