-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A gay rights group is welcoming the likely appointment of the world 's first openly gay prime minister , Johanna Sigurdardottir of Iceland . Protesters in Reykjavik celebrate the prime minister 's resignation on Monday . Sigurdardottir , the country 's 66-year-old minister of social affairs and social security , is on track to succeed Prime Minister Geir Haarde , who resigned Monday following the collapse of the country 's main banks , currency and stock market . Negotiations are underway between Sigurardottir 's Social Democratic Alliance Party and potential coalition partners . If they succeed , she will become interim prime minister until Iceland next goes to the polls , which must happen by May . `` We really warmly welcome that , '' said Gary Nunn , a spokesperson for Stonewall UK , a British gay-rights group . `` At a time when we 've just seen a black man elected to the highest office in America , it gives us hope that we will see an openly gay prime minister here some day . '' `` It really does matter . It is helpful '' to have an openly gay prime minister , Nunn said . `` We are trying to foster the ambition that young people can be anything they want to be . '' Britain has only one openly lesbian member of Parliament , Angela Eagle of the Labour party , Nunn said . The United States currently has three openly gay members of Congress -- Democratic Reps. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin , Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Jared Polis of Colorado . Stonewall considers it a higher priority to have significant numbers of openly gay lawmakers than an openly gay prime minister . `` For a head of state of to be gay is great and really encouraging , but it 's really important for Parliament to represent the people it serves , '' he said . Sigurdardottir has been a member of Iceland 's Parliament for 30 years , and is in her second stint as minister of social affairs . She started her career as a flight attendant for the airline that became IcelandAir . She was active in the flight attendants ' labor union during her 11 years with the airline , according to her official resume . Sigurdardottir briefly led her own political party , which merged with other center-left parties to form the Alliance party . She would become Iceland 's first female prime minister , although not the North Atlantic nation 's first female head of state -- Vigdis Finnbogadottir became its fourth president in 1980 . Sigurdardottir lists author and playwright Jonina Leosdottir , 54 , as her spouse on her ministry Web site . She has two children from an earlier marriage .