Bjarni Benediktsson, Jr.

Who is Bjarni Benediktsson, Jr.?

Bjarni Benediktsson, known colloquially as Bjarni Ben, is an Icelandic politician, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs since 23 May 2013 and leader of the Icelandic Independence Party since 2009. He has no family relationship with the former Icelandic Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson. The media sometimes refer to them as Bjarni Benediktsson Sr and Bjarni Benediktsson Jr to differentiate between the identical names of the two politicians.

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. 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.

In the 2013 Althing elections on 28 April the Independence Party and their ally the Progressive Party each won 19 seats. 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.