Copenhagen, April 10, (dpa/GNA) – Iceland’s foreign minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, is to be the country’s new prime minister, after Katrin Jakobsdóttir announced her resignation last week to seek election as president.
Benediktsson, who had served as finance minister in Jakobsdóttir previous cabinet, announced the switch himself on Tuesday at a press conference broadcast on Icelandic television.
A member of the conservative Independence Party, Benediktsson served as prime minister between January and November 2017, when his government was hit by a scandal after his father, came out in favour of deleting the criminal record of a sex offender.
Jakobdóttir’s resignation has led to a reshuffle. Finance Minister Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir of the Independence Party is to become Foreign Minister. Sigurdur Ingi Jóhannsson of the Progress Party is to succeed her as finance minister.
The new cabinet will take office following a session of the State Council on Tuesday evening.
Jakobsdóttir of the Left-Green movement has been prime minister since 2017. She is seeking to replace President Gudni Th. Jóhannesson, who is not standing for re-election to the largely ceremonial role in the presidential elections set down for June 1.
GNA
RA
9 April, 2024