Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1970)

Bjarni Benediktsson
27th Prime Minister of Iceland
Assumed office
11 January 2017
President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
Preceded by Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson
Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs
In office
23 May 2013 – 11 January 2017
Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
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 (1970-01-26) 26 January 1970
Reykjavík, Iceland
Political party Independence Party
Spouse(s) Þóra Margrét Baldvinsdóttir
Children 4
Alma mater University of Iceland
University of Miami

Bjarni Benediktsson (born 26 January 1970 in Reykjavík), known colloquially as Bjarni Ben, is an Icelandic politician, who has served as Prime Minister since January 2017. He has been the leader of the Icelandic Independence Party since 2009, and previously served as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs from 2013 to 2017.

Education, early career and family

After obtaining a law degree at the University of Iceland, Bjarni completed his studies in Germany and the United States before returning to Iceland to work as a lawyer.

The former Icelandic Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson was his great-uncle.

Political career

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.[1] 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.[2]

In the 2013 Althing elections on 28 April the Independence Party and their ally the Progressive Party each won 19 seats.[3] 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 Davíð Gunnlaugsson.[4] 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.[5]

Controversies

In 2015, it was revealed that Bjarni had registered on Ashley Madison, a website for extramarital affairs. In response, Bjarni and his wife said that they had both registered on the site because they were curious. His username was "IceHot1".[6]

As reported in 2016, Bjarni "shared what is known as 'power of attorney' over a shell company" involved in the Panama Papers.[7]

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".[8]

Prime Minister (2017–present)

Bjarni became Prime Minister of Iceland on 11 January 2017.[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ "New Chairman Elected for Iceland’s Independents". Iceland Review. Reykjavik. 30 March 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  2. ↑ "Centre-left wins Iceland election". BBC News. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  3. ↑ "Iceland vote: Centre-right opposition wins election". BBC News. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Iceland Election: Sigmundur Davíð to be Prime Minister". Iceland Review. Reykjavik. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Arnarsdóttir, Eygló Svala (9 January 2017). "New Government Announced Tomorrow". Iceland Review. Reykjavik. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Hafstað, Vala (20 August 2015). "Minister Entangled in Ashley Madison Affair". Iceland Review. Reykjavik. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Ryan Chittum, Jóhannes Kr. Kristjánsson, Bastian Obermayer, Frederik Obermaier (4 April 2016). Panama Papers: Iceland’s prime minister had offshore holdings in collapsed banks. The Irish Times Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "New Iceland PM says "Maybe a mistake not putting the offshore accounts report forward"". Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  9. ↑ https://www.forsaetisraduneyti.is/frettir/rikisradsfundir-a-bessastodum-midvikudaginn-11-januar-2017
  10. ↑ "Iceland ousted one leader named in the Panama Papers, but ended up with another on the list". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Geir Haarde		 Leader of the Independence Party
2009–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Katrín Júlíusdóttir		 Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs
2013–2017 		Succeeded by
Benedikt Jóhannesson
Preceded by
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson		 Prime Minister of Iceland
2017–present 		Incumbent
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