 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bjarni Benediktsson" born 1908 – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bjarni Benediktsson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 17thPrime Minister of Iceland | |
| In office 14 November 1963 – 10 July 1970 | |
| President | Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Kristján Eldjárn |
| Preceded by | Ólafur Thors |
| Succeeded by | Jóhann Hafstein |
| Acting 8 September 1961 – 31 December 1961 | |
| President | Ásgeir Ásgeirsson |
| Preceded by | Ólafur Thors |
| Succeeded by | Ólafur Thors |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 4 February 1947 – 11 September 1953 | |
| Prime Minister | Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson Ólafur Thors Steingrímur Steinþórsson |
| Preceded by | Ólafur Thors |
| Succeeded by | Kristinn Guðmundsson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1908-04-30)30 April 1908 |
| Died | 10 July 1970(1970-07-10) (aged 62) |
| Party | Independence |
| Alma mater | University of Iceland |
Bjarni Benediktsson (Icelandic pronunciation:[ˈpja(r)tnɪˈpɛːnɛtɪxtsˌsɔːn]; 30 April 1908 – 10 July 1970) was an Icelandic politician of theIndependence Party who served asprime minister of Iceland from 1963 to 1970. He was born toBenedikt Sveinsson [is] (1877–1954), a leader in theindependence movement of Iceland and a member of theAlthingi from 1908 to 1931, and Guðrún Pétursdóttir frá Engey, a nationally renowned poet.
Bjarni studied constitutional law and became a professor at theUniversity of Iceland at age 24. He was elected to the city council in Reykjavík in 1934 as a member of theIndependence Party and from 1940 to 1947 was mayor of the city.
In 1947 he became Foreign Minister and served in various posts in cabinets until 1956. Bjarni was mainly responsible for Iceland joiningNATO in 1949, against significant opposition, and for giving theUnited States Air Force a lease onKeflavík Airport near Reykjavík, which was of major strategic importance during theCold War.[1] Bjarni was caricatured by the Nobel prize winning writerHalldór Laxness in his 1948 playAtómstöðin (The Atom Station).[1]
In 1956, when the left-wing parties formed a coalition government, Bjarni, out of office, became editor ofMorgunblaðið, a leading conservative newspaper. In 1959, when the Independence Party formed a coalition government with the Social Democrats, Bjarni becameMinister of Justice. He served asspeaker of theAlthing in 1959.[2] Two years later he was elected chairman of theIndependence Party and in 1963 he took over fromÓlafur Thors as Prime Minister. When Bjarni became prime minister, he received a congratulatory letter from thepresident of the United States,John F. Kennedy, only six days before hisassassination.[3] Bjarni served in this position until his death, which was caused by a fire at a government summer house atÞingvellir on 10 July 1970. His wife and their 4-year-old grandson also perished in the blaze.[4]Jóhann Hafstein was made prime minister immediately following his death.
Bjarni was the father of politiciansBjörn Bjarnason andValgerður Bjarnadóttir, as well as the father-in-law ofVilmundur Gylfason. Bjarni was the great-uncle of his namesakeBjarni Benediktsson, who became Prime Minister in January 2017.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign Affairs 1947–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Prime Minister of Iceland 1963–1970 | Succeeded by | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theIndependence Party 1963–1970 | Succeeded by |
