Iceland picks Bjarni Benediktsson as next prime minister

Benediktsson's tenure as prime minister in 2017 was cut short after less than a year when a coalition partner quit the government, triggering a snap election. The head of the centre-right Progressive Party, Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, who has also served as prime minister in the past, will become finance minister, RUV reported.

Bjarni Benediktsson said on Tuesday he will become the country's next prime minister, replacing Katrin Jakobsdottir who last week announced she would resign and run for president, public broadcaster RUV reported.

Benediktsson, head of the pro-business, right-wing Independence Party, now serves as foreign minister in a broad three-party coalition and was previously prime minister in a short-lived government from January to November of 2017. He takes the helm at a time of uncertainty in Iceland after recent volcanic eruptions triggered the indefinite evacuation of thousands of people, adding to pressures on an economy already facing high inflation and soaring interest rates.

Benediktsson has also served as finance minister in Jakobsdottir's government where he took the first steps to curb the state's ownership of the banking sector well over a decade after the industry imploded during the 2008 financial crisis. Benediktsson's tenure as prime minister in 2017 was cut short after less than a year when a coalition partner quit the government, triggering a snap election.

The head of the centre-right Progressive Party, Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, who has also served as prime minister in the past, will become finance minister, RUV reported.

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