His predecessor was Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, who was elected on 18 January 2009 and was Prime Minister of Iceland from 23 May 2013 to 5 April 2016.

[16] During the period 1927–1990, the Progressive Party held the prime minister post for thirty years and spent more than two-thirds of the time in coalition government.

However, in September 1988, a new government was formed by the Progressive Party's Steingrímur Hermannsson with the Social Democrats and People's Alliance.

[2] Halldór Ásgrímsson announced his intention to resign on 5 June 2006 following the party's poor results in the 2006 municipal elections.

According to political scientist Eiríkur Bergmann, "a completely renewed leadership took over the country’s old agrarian party, the Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn— PP), which was rapidly retuned in a more populist direction; geared against foreign creditors, international institutions and eventually partly towards anti- Muslim rhetoric, which until then had been absent in the country—there is no significant Muslim minority in Iceland.

It remained in opposition, however, with a centre-left coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement continuing to govern with an increased majority.

[23] In the 2013 parliamentary election, the Progressive Party reached second place nationally, winning 24.4% of the vote and 19 seats.

[24] Sigmundur Davíð was ousted as leader of the party shortly after he was implicated in scandal and ethical quandaries in the Panama Papers release.