Valve actuation controlling apparatus and method for engine

After commanding an engine to stop, an electronic controller controls a variable working-angle control mechanism to increase the working angle of an intake valve in preparation for restarting of the engine. In the case of an automatic stop, which is followed by restarting of the engine in a relatively short time, the working angle of the intake valve is set to the maximum working angle of the variable working-angle control mechanism, which maximizing decompression. In a manual stop, it is necessary to allow for both hot start and cold start. Also, in the manual stop, a target working angle when the engine is stopped is set less than that of a case of the automatic stop. Thus, the starting characteristic is prevented from being degraded by increased friction of engine parts during a cold start, and knocking is prevented from occurring due to a high compression ratio in a cylinder during a hot start.