[2] The president is elected to a four-year term by popular vote, is not term-limited, and has limited powers.

The 2012 election was a notable exception to this, where incumbent Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson won with only 52.78% of the vote.

The word forseti means one who sits foremost (sá sem fremst situr) in Old Norse/Icelandic or literally fore-sitter.

The president appoints ministers to the Cabinet of Iceland, determines their number and division of assignments.

The ministers are delegated the president's executive powers and are solely responsible for their actions.

In the aftermath of general elections, the president has the role to designate a party leader (the one that the president considers most likely to be able to form a majority coalition government) to formally start negotiations to form a government.

Article 2 of the constitution states that the president and the Parliament jointly exercise the legislative power.

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (who served 1996–2016) is the only president to have vetoed legislation from Parliament, having done so only on three occasions (2004, 2010, 2011).

The above also occurs as an interregnum between the expiration of the previous president's term at midnight on 1 August and the inauguration of their successor.

Sveinn Björnsson remains the only president to die in office in 1952, triggering a presidential election one year ahead of schedule.

It states that the president does not bear responsibility for the actions of their government and that they can not be prosecuted without consent of the Parliament.