Bjarni Benediktsson to return as Iceland PM

HELSINKI -- Bjarni Benediktsson, chairman of Iceland's Independence Party, said on Tuesday that he will become the country's new prime minister, according to Icelandic radio RUV report.

The position became vacant following former PM Katrin Jakobsdottir's resignation last week, after she announced that she would run for president in the June election.

Jakobsdottir 's government, which represents the Left-Green Movement, the Independence Party, and the Progressive Party, took office in November 2021.

Benediktsson said that the new composition was the result of talks among the coalition parties. He added: "The government is built on a solid foundation."

Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, chairman of the Progressive Party, will become Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs. Svandis Svavarsdottir from the Left-Green Movement will be the Minister of Infrastructure, while Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir of the Independence Party will be the Foreign Minister.

Benediktsson said that the next parliamentary elections will be held in September next year if there is no reason to arrange them in the spring.

Benediktsson, 54, was briefly prime minister in 2017, and has held various ministerial posts since 2013.