Bjarni Benediktsson (30 April 1908 – 10 July 1970) was an Icelandic politician of the

Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

who served as

prime minister of Iceland The prime minister of Iceland ( is, Forsætisráðherra Íslands) is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the president and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary suppo ...

from 1963 to 1970. His father, (1877–1954), was a leader in the independence movement in Iceland and a member of the

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (" thing fields" or "assemb ...

i from 1908 to 1931. Bjarni studied constitutional law and became a professor at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

at age 24. He was elected to the city council in Reykjavík in 1934 as a member of the

and from 1940 to 1947 was mayor of the city. Bjarni Benediktsson and Levi Eshkol 1964

In 1947 he became Foreign Minister and served in various posts in cabinets until 1956. Bjarni was mainly responsible for Iceland joining

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in 1949, against significant opposition, and for giving the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

a lease on

Keflavík Airport Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njarðv ...

near Reykjavík, which was of major strategic importance during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. Bjarni was caricatured by the Nobel prize winning writer Halldór Laxness in his 1948 play ' (

The Atom Station The Atom Station ( is, Atómstöðin) is a novel by Icelandic author Halldór Laxness, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955. The initial print run sold out on the day it was published, for the first time in Icelandic history. ...

). 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 A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. He served as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

in 1959. Two years later he was elected chairman of the

and in 1963 he took over from

Ólafur Thors Ólafur Tryggvason Thors (19 January 1892 – 31 December 1964) was an Icelandic politician of the Independence Party, who served five times as prime minister of Iceland. Career The son of Margrét Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir and Thor Philip ...

as Prime Minister. He served in this position until his death, which was caused by a fire at a government summer house at

Þingvellir Þingvellir (, anglicised as ThingvellirThe spelling ''Pingvellir'' is sometimes seen, although the letter "p" is unrelated to the letter "þ" (thorn), which is pronounced as "th".) was the site of the Alþing, the annual parliament of Iceland ...

; his wife and grandson also perished in the blaze. Bjarni was the father of

Björn Bjarnason Björn Bjarnason (born 14 November 1944) is an Icelandic politician. His father was Bjarni Benediktsson, Prime Minister of Iceland, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs and Mayor of Reykjavík. Matriculating from Reykjavík Junior ...

and

Valgerður Bjarnadóttir Valgerður Bjarnadóttir (born 13 January 1950) is an Icelandic politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create ...

, as well as the father-in-law of

Vilmundur Gylfason Vilmundur Gylfason (7 August 1948 – 19 June 1983) was an Icelandic politician, historian and poet. He was the son of Gylfi Þorsteinsson Gíslason and Guðrún Vilmundardóttir. Family Vilmundur's father was Gylfi Þorsteinsson Gíslaso ...

. Bjarni was the great-uncle of his namesake Bjarni Benediktsson, who became Prime Minister in January 2017.

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