To reconcile warming-up performance and filling performance of suction air of an internal combustion engine.

An intake valve of the internal combustion engine is driven by a solenoid actuator. The solenoid actuator is controlled by an engine control circuit, and is constituted so as to control opening-closing of the intake valve. Plural-time valve opening control for respectively opening the intake valve one time in an exhaust stroke and an intake stroke is executed in an executing period of catalytic early warming-up after completing engine starting. Thus, when opening the intake valve in the exhaust stroke, the suction air standing by in an intake pipe can be efficiently warmed up by high temperature combustion gas just after combustion in a cylinder, and afterward, when opening the intake valve in a suction stroke, the warmed-up suction air can be efficiently filled in the cylinder. In the plural-time valve opening control, the valve opening timing of the intake valve in the intake stroke is controlled on the ignition timing delay side more than suction TDC, and a valve opening period and a lift quantity of the intake valve in the exhaust stroke are controlled so as to become smaller than that of the intake valve in the suction stroke.