Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1908)

This is an article about a former prime minister of Iceland. For the current leader of the Icelandic Independence Party, see Bjarni Benediktsson.

Bjarni Benediktsson
11th Prime Minister of Iceland
In office 14 November 1963 – 10 July 1970
President	Ásgeir Ásgeirsson
Preceded by	Ólafur Thors
Succeeded by	Jóhann Hafstein
Personal details
Born	30 April 1908 Reykjavík, Iceland
Died	10 July 1970 (aged 62) Þingvellir, Iceland
Political party	Independence Party
Alma mater	University of Iceland

Bjarni Benediktsson (30 April 1908 – 10 July 1970) was Prime Minister of Iceland from 14 November 1963 to 10 July 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.

Bjarni studied constitutional law and became a professor at the University of Iceland at the age of only 24. He was elected to the city council in Reykjavík in 1934 as a member of the Independence Party and from 1940 to 1947 was mayor of the city.

Bjarni (right) with Levi Eshkol in 1964.

In 1947 he became Foreign Minister and served in various posts in cabinets until 1956. His tenure included the establishment of Iceland as a founding member of NATO in 1949. In 1956, when the left-wing parties formed a coalition government, Bjarni, out of office, became editor of Morgunblaðið, a leading conservative newspaper.

In 1959, when the Independence Party formed a coalition government with the Social Democrats, Bjarni became Minister of Justice. Two years later he was elected chairman of the Independence Party and in 1963 he took over from Ólafur Thors as Prime Minister. He served in this position until his death, which was caused by a fire at a government summer house at Þingvellir; his wife and grandson also perished in the blaze.

Bjarni was the father of Björn Bjarnason and Valgerður Bjarnadóttir, as well as the father-in-law of Vilmundur Gylfason. He was also the great-uncle of Bjarni Benediktsson, leader of the Independence Party since 2009 and Icelandic finance and economic affairs minister since 2013.

External links

• CV from Althingi (Icelandic)