Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson

Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson (pronounced [ˈsɪːɣʏrðʏr ˈiŋgɪ ˈjouːhansɔn]; born 20 April 1962) is an Icelandic politician, who was the prime minister of Iceland from April 2016 to January 2017. He was the chairman of the Progressive Party from 2016 to 2026 and Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs from April to December 2024, having previously served as Minister of Infrastructure.

Sigurður Ingi was appointed as the prime minister on 7 April 2016, following the resignation of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson in the wake of revelations contained in the Panama Papers. He was elected as chairman of the Progressive Party on 2 October that year, narrowly ahead of the incumbent chairman Sigmundur Davíð.

On 30 October 2016, due to the results of the parliamentary election held the previous day on 29 October 2016, Sigurður announced his pending resignation as Prime Minister. He officially left office on 11 January 2017 and was succeeded by Bjarni Benediktsson.

Biography Sigurður grew up on a farm in Southern Iceland, trained as a veterinarian at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen and opened a veterinarian practice specializing in farm animals after returning home to Iceland. He was since elected as chairman of the Veterinarian Association of Iceland and also ran the family farm for a number of years.

Sigurður served as Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture 2013–2016. He is a former Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, a role which he held jointly with Fisheries and Agriculture until Sigrún Magnúsdóttir was appointed Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources at the end of 2014.

As a result of the ousting of prime minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson following the Panama Papers scandal, the Progressive Party announced Sigurður Ingi as the interim prime minister pending the early election in the autumn of 2016. He was succeeded by Bjarni Benediktsson.

He was Minister of Transport and Local Government, later renamed to Ministry of Infrastructure from 30 November 2017 to 9 April 2024. He became Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs on 9 April 2024, after Bjarni Benediktsson became prime minister again. Following the withdrawal of the Left-Green Movement from government in October the same year and the government's collapse, he was additionally reappointed as minister of infrastructure.

In April 2022, he faced a mild controversy when he was accused for racism towards black people, with him apologising and refusing the allegations.