Variable valve timing apparatus for internal combustion engine and control method thereof

A variable valve timing apparatus for an internal combustion engine, including: an actuator (15) that activates a variable valve timing mechanism; a detection unit (35) that detects a driving position of the actuator; a control unit (21) that drive-controls the actuator, and when a predetermined execution condition is established, executes one of a first initialization process and a second initialization process that match the driving position of the actuator detected by the detection unit with an actual driving position of the actuator; and an abnormality determination unit (21) that determines whether or not an abnormality is present in the driving position detected by the detection unit and stores an abnormality history after determining that an abnormality is present. The control unit executes the first initialization process when the abnormality history is stored and the second initialization process when the abnormality history is not stored.