Bjarni Benediktsson | |
---|---|
31st Prime Minister of Iceland | |
Assumed office 9 April 2024 | |
President | Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Halla Tómasdóttir |
Preceded by | Katrín Jakobsdóttir |
In office 11 January 2017 –30 November 2017 | |
President | Guðni Th. Jóhannesson |
Preceded by | Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson |
Succeeded by | Katrín Jakobsdóttir |
Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
In office 14 October 2023 –9 April 2024 | |
Prime Minister | Katrín Jakobsdóttir |
Preceded by | Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir |
Succeeded by | Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir |
Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs | |
In office 30 November 2017 –14 October 2023 | |
Prime Minister | Katrín Jakobsdóttir |
Preceded by | Benedikt Jóhannesson |
Succeeded by | Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir |
In office 23 May 2013 –11 January 2017 | |
Prime Minister | Sigmundur DavíðGunnlaugsson Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson |
Preceded by | Katrín Júlíusdóttir |
Succeeded by | Benedikt Jóhannesson |
Leader of the Independence Party | |
Assumed office 29 March 2009 | |
Preceded by | Geir Haarde |
Personal details | |
Born | Reykjavík,Iceland | 26 January 1970
Political party | Independence Party |
Spouse | Þóra Margrét Baldvinsdóttir |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Iceland University of Miami |
Nickname | Bjarni Ben |
Bjarni Benediktsson (born 26 January 1970),known colloquially as Bjarni Ben,is an Icelandic politician,who is the current prime minister of Iceland since April 2024,and previously from January to November 2017. He has been the leader of the Icelandic Independence Party since 2009,and served as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs from 2013 to 2017,a post he later retained under Katrín Jakobsdóttir and held until his resignation in October 2023. After serving briefly as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2023 to 2024,Bjarni became prime minister again on 9 April 2024.
Bjarni is popularly referred to as a "teflon" politician due to managing to retain his position as one of Iceland's most powerful politicians despite his frequent involvement in political scandals. [1]
Bjarni was born in Reykjavík. His great uncle was the former prime minister of the same name,Bjarni Benediktsson. [2]
After obtaining a law degree at the University of Iceland,Bjarni went on to study German and law at the Goethe-Institut and University of Freiburg,respectively,in Germany from 1995 to 1996. [3] The following year,he attended the University of Miami in the United States,where he earned a LL.M. degree. He then returned to Iceland,where he worked as an attorney. [4]
Bjarni entered the national parliament in 2003 and has been active in several committees in the areas of economy and taxation,industry and foreign affairs.
Bjarni was elected leader of the conservative Independence Party at its national convention on 29 March 2009 with 58.1 percent of the vote,about a month before the April 2009 Icelandic legislative elections. [5] The party came in second in the elections with 16 seats,nine fewer than in the previous elections. After conceding defeat on 26 April 2009,Bjarni said his party had lost the trust of voters. "We lost this time but we will win again later," he said. [6]
In the 2013 Althing elections on 28 April the Independence Party and their ally the Progressive Party each won 19 seats. [7] On 17 May 2013 Icelandic media reported that Bjarni would take up the position of Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs in a cabinet led by Progressive Party leader Sigmundur DavíðGunnlaugsson. [8] In the 2016 Althing elections,the Independence Party won 21 seats,while the Progressive party only won 8. Shortly after the results,Prime Minister Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson resigned from his post. A new coalition between the Independence Party,the Reform Party and Bright Future was formed in January 2017 with Bjarni designated to become prime minister. [9]
As reported in 2016,Bjarni "shared what is known as 'power of attorney' over a shell company" involved in the Panama Papers. [10]
Bjarni came under criticism in January 2017 for not revealing a government report on the offshore bank activities of Icelanders before the 2016 parliamentary elections. Bjarni falsely told reporters that he had not seen the report prior to the elections. He later apologized for his "inaccurate timeline". [11]
Shortly before midnight on 23 December 2020,police in Reykjavík dissolved a gathering of 40-50 people at the art gallery Ásmundarsalur for breach of COVID-19 restrictions. Police report stated that a senior minister in the government had been present,later revealed to be Bjarni. At the time,COVID-19 restrictions limited gatherings in Iceland to ten people. The venue,which sells alcoholic beverages,was also not allowed to be open after 10 pm. [12]
Bjarni claimed that he had visited the exhibition with his wife to greet their friends and that he was only present for 15 minutes during which the number of guests increased. "The right reaction would have been to leave the gallery as soon as I realized that the number of people exceeded the limit. I didn't do that and I apologise for that mistake" he said in a statement posted on Facebook. [13] According to a source of the newspaper Vísir,Bjarni was however present for at least 45 minutes. [14]
Chief epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason said that Bjarni's actions set a "bad example" and he did not expect the public to perceive it well. Furthermore,he said the gathering had been a clear violation of COVID-19 restrictions. [15]
Bjarni became Prime Minister of Iceland on 11 January 2017. [16] In September 2017,the future of the Icelandic government and Bjarni's tenure as prime minister was put in doubt when the Bright Future party withdrew from the governing coalition. Bright Future did this in the wake of reporting that government ministers of the Independence Party had concealed that Bjarni's father,Benedikt Sveinsson,recommended that the criminal record of convicted child sex offender Hjalti Sigurjón Hauksson be erased. [17] [18]
The Minister of Justice,Sigríður Andersen,had informed Bjarni about his father's involvement in the letter of recommendation in July,and refused to disclose the recommendation's author until compelled to by a parliamentary committee. [19] [20]
In January 2017 he was named as the eighth hottest head of state in the world. [21]
After the 2017 parliamentary elections,Katrín Jakobsdóttir became prime minister,and in a coalition agreement,Bjarni became the finance minister again. Bjarni resigned on 10 October 2023,following the release of a report by the Ombudsman of Althing which heavily condemned his conduct relating to the sale of state-owned shares in the bank Íslandsbanki. [22]
Only a few days after his resignation as minister of finance and economic affairs,Bjarni was appointed minister of foreign affairs. His predecessor in the position,Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir,was appointed his successor as finance minister. [23]
In a meeting of Nordic foreign ministers in Oslo,Norway in November 2023,he refused to condemn Israel's bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp on the Gaza Strip the preceding day,questioning whether it could be described as an "attack”Bjarni stated:"It depends on what you define as an 'attack'". [24]
On 9 April 2024,Bjarni became Prime Minister of Iceland following Katrín Jakobsdóttir's resignation to run for president. [25]
He began his second term with a 13% approval rating. [26] Bjarni faced a no-confidence vote on 18 April which failed 35 to 25. [27]
The politics of Iceland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic,whereby the president is the head of state,while the prime minister of Iceland serves as the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament,the Althingi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Independence Party is a conservative political party in Iceland. It is currently the largest party in the Alþingi,with 17 seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and the vice chairman of the party is Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir.
The Left-Green Movement,also known by its short-form name Vinstri græn (VG),is an eco-socialist political party in Iceland.
Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir is an Icelandic politician,who has been chairman of the Liberal Reform Party since 2017.
Bjarni Benediktsson was an Icelandic politician of the Independence Party who served as prime minister of Iceland from 1963 to 1970. His father,Benedikt Sveinsson (1877–1954),was a leader in the independence movement in Iceland and a member of the Althingi from 1908 to 1931.
Björn Bjarnason is an Icelandic politician. His father was Bjarni Benediktsson,Prime Minister of Iceland,Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs and Mayor of Reykjavík.
Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson is an Icelandic politician who has been serving as Minister for the Environment,Energy and Climate since 28 November 2021.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir is an Icelandic politician who served as the prime minister of Iceland from December 2017 to April 2024 and was a member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency from 2007 to 2024.
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson is an Icelandic politician,who was the prime minister of Iceland from April 2016 to January 2017. He has been the chairman of the Progressive Party since 2016 and since April 2024,he has served as the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs,having previously served as Minister of Infrastructure.
Iceland–Israel relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Iceland and Israel. Both nations are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 29 October 2016. They were due to be held on or before 27 April 2017,but following the 2016 Icelandic anti-government protests,the ruling coalition announced that early elections would be held "in autumn".
Bjarkey Olsen Gunnarsdóttir is an Icelandic politician. She has served as Minister of Food,Fisheries and Agriculture from April 2024 and has been member of the Althing since 2013,representing the North East.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 28 October 2017. On 15 September 2017,the three-party coalition government collapsed after the departure of Bright Future over a scandal involving Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson's father writing a letter recommending a convicted child sex offender have his "honour restored". Bjarni subsequently called for a snap election,which was officially scheduled for 28 October 2017 following the dissolution of the Althing.
Events in the year 2017 in Iceland.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 September 2021 to elect the members of the Althing. Following the elections,the three parties in the ruling coalition government –the Independence Party,Progressive Party and Left-Green Movement –agreed to continue in office,with Katrín Jakobsdóttir of the Left-Green Movement remaining Prime Minister despite her party being the smallest of the three. It was the first time an incumbent government had retained power in an election since the 2008 financial crisis.
Sigríður Ásthildur Andersen is an Icelandic politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice of Iceland from 2017–2019. She resigned as minister of justice after the European Court of Human Rights found her appointments of judges to the Icelandic court of appeals to be illegal.
Þórdís Kolbrún ReykfjörðGylfadóttir is an Icelandic lawyer and politician of the Independence Party who has served as the minister of foreign affairs since 2024,having previously done so between 2021 and 2023. She also served as finance minister between 2023 and 2024.
Events in the year 2022 in Iceland.
Events in the year 2024 in Iceland.
The Second cabinet of Bjarni Benediktsson was formed on 9 April 2024,following the resignation of Katrín Jakobsdóttir to run in the presidential election. The cabinet is led by Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence Party,who previously served as Prime Minister of Iceland in 2017.
The Ministry of Justice, under minister Sigridur Andersen, a member of Benediktsson's Independence Party, had initially refused to disclose who had written the letter of recommendation but was later ordered to do so by a parliamentary committee. Andersen told broadcaster Stod 2 that she had informed Benediktsson about his father's involvement last July, but had not disclosed that information to anyone else.
Even more damning is the fact that public broadcasting service RÚV now reports that the Minister of Justice, Sigríður Andersen, informed the Prime Minister last July that his father had provided this letter.
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