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Bjarni Benediktsson

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Overview

Bjarni Benediktsson (30 April 1908 – 10 July 1970) was an Icelandic politician of the Independence Party who served as prime minister of Iceland from 1963 to 1970. His father, (1877–1954), was a leader in the independence movement in Iceland and a member of the Althingi from 1908 to 1931. Bjarni studied constitutional law and became a professor at the University of Iceland at age 24. He was elected to the city council in Reykjavík in 1934 as a member of the Independence 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 joining NATO in 1949, against significant opposition, and for giving the United States Air Force a lease on Keflavík Airport near Reykjavík, which was of major strategic importance during the Cold War. Bjarni was caricatured by the Nobel prize winning writer Halldór Laxness in his 1948 play (The Atom Station).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Not who you're looking for? Others named Bjarni Benediktsson: Icelandic politician

Overview

Bjarni Benediktsson (30 April 1908 – 10 July 1970) was an Icelandic politician of the Independence Party who served as prime minister of Iceland from 1963 to 1970. His father, (1877–1954), was a leader in the independence movement in Iceland and a member of the Althingi from 1908 to 1931. Bjarni studied constitutional law and became a professor at the University of Iceland at age 24. He was elected to the city council in Reykjavík in 1934 as a member of the Independence 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 joining NATO in 1949, against significant opposition, and for giving the United States Air Force a lease on Keflavík Airport near Reykjavík, which was of major strategic importance during the Cold War. Bjarni was caricatured by the Nobel prize winning writer Halldór Laxness in his 1948 play (The Atom Station).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).