Political career
In 1996, Kleist was appointed the Director of the Foreign Office of the Greenland Home Rule Government (Direktør for hjemmestyrets udenrigskontor). He was a Member of the Danish Parliament from 20 November 2001 to 13 November 2007, representing the Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party. IA will be the first party to govern the autonomous Danish territory under an expanded home rule agreement known as "self-rule" (selvstyre). While the self-rule agreement has been referred to a step towards eventual full independence from Denmark, Kleist's administration was predicted to put "any push for independence [...] on the backburner", given his pledge to focus on social issues such as alcoholism, domestic violence and a high suicide rate. [4]
Kleist had risen to power on an agenda that included cleaning up following government scandals. [5]
Prime minister
Since 2007, he has been the leader of IA, a leftist political party which works towards Greenland's eventual full autonomy from Denmark. The party received the most votes in the 2009 election. In June 2009 the Greenlandic parliament therefore elected Kleist the fifth Prime Minister of Greenland. Kleist also had a very successful election himself and won 5,461 personal votes compared to just 1,413 votes for incumbent Prime Minister Hans Enoksen. [6] [7]
In late August 2009 Kleist met with Admiral Tim Sloth Jørgensen and General Walter Natynczyk, the chiefs of defense staff for Denmark and Canada, respectively. [8] Admiral Jørgensen and General Natynczyk were conducting a tour of Danish and Canadian military bases in the Arctic.
The politics of Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, function in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament Inatsisartut. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Greenland has full autonomy on most matters, except on policies and decisions affecting the region including negotiations with the devolved legislatures and the Folketing.
Hans Enoksen is a Greenlandic politician who served as the third prime minister of Greenland from 2002 to 2009.
Jonathan Jakob Jørgen Otto Motzfeldt was a Greenlandic priest and politician. He is considered one of the leading figures in the establishment of Greenland Home Rule. Jonathan Motzfeldt was the first prime minister of Greenland. He was Greenland's prime minister from 1979 until 1991 and again from 1997 until 2002. He was Greenland's longest serving prime minister and won the most elections of any prime minister of Greenland. He is considered a centre-left politician and Greenland became a recognized country during his tenure.
Siumut is a political party in Greenland in the social democratic tradition. Since the establishment of home rule in 1979, it has been the dominant party in Greenland. Siumut is led by Erik Jensen, who beat the then-incumbent Prime Minister Kim Kielsen in a tight leadership contest in late 2020.
Inuit Ataqatigiit is a democratic socialist, separatist political party in Greenland that aims to make Greenland an independent state. The party, founded as a political organisation in 1976, was born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s. Traditionally in favour of a socialist economy, the party has been criticised from the left of having gradually moved towards a capitalist approach, supporting a market economy and privatisation. Inuit Ataqatigiit believes that an independent Greenland should be competitive while fighting to keep the environment clean.
A non-binding referendum on Greenland's autonomy was held on 25 November 2008 to support or oppose the Greenland Self-Government Act. It was passed with 76% approval and a 72% turnout. The non-binding referendum was on expanded home rule in 30 areas, including police, courts, and the coast guard; gave Greenland a say in foreign policy; provided a more definite split of future oil revenue; and made the Greenlandic language the sole official language.
General elections were held in Greenland on 2 June 2009. Prime Minister Hans Enoksen announced the election date on 15 April 2009, stating that he would prefer for a newly elected parliament to administer Greenland when the self-government reform took effect on 21 June 2009. The reform gave more power to the Greenlandic parliament with decisions on most issues being devolved to the parliament but defence and foreign affairs remaining under the control of Denmark.
Qullissat is a former settlement in the Qeqertalik municipality, located on the northeast coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. It was a coal mining town founded to exploit the natural resources of Disko Island. The mines operated for 48 years until 1972, when the economic base of the settlement collapsed, leading to its abandonment.
The Naalakkersuisut is the chief executive body and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. An autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is a parliamentary representative democratic territory, in which the premier leads the cabinet, and of a multi-party system.
Greenlandic independence is a political ambition of some political parties, advocacy groups, and individuals of Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, to become an independent sovereign state.
Aleqa Hammond is a Greenlandic politician and former member of the Danish Folketing (parliament). Formerly the leader of the Siumut party, she became Greenland's first female prime minister after her party emerged as the largest parliamentary faction in the 2013 elections. In 2014 she stepped down as prime minister and leader of Siumut, following a case of misuse of public funds. She was expelled from Siumut on 23 August 2016 after yet another case of misuse of public funds and became an independent. On 31 March 2018 she announced that she would be running in the 2018 Greenlandic parliamentary election for the Siumut breakaway Nunatta Qitornai.
The Inuit Party was a separatist party in Greenland, formed by dissidents from the then-governing Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA). The party was opposed to the so-called big-scale law, and wanted a referendum on the law. Mette Lynge represented the party in the Naalakkersuisut (Government) and was minister for dwellings, nature and environment. At the 2014 Greenlandic general election, the party did not win any seats in parliament.
Sara Olsvig is a Greenlandic politician and former leader (2014–2018) of the Inuit Ataqatigiit political party. She occupied one of Greenland's two seats in the Danish Folketing, 15 September 2011 – 15 September 2014.
Atassut is a liberal-conservative and unionist political party in Greenland. Founded on 29 April 1978, Atassut is an established partner of the Liberal Party of Denmark.
Múte Inequnaaluk Bourup Egede is a Greenlandic politician serving as the seventh prime minister of Greenland, a position he has held since April 2021. He has served as a member of the Inatsisartut, the parliament of Greenland, since 2015, and furthermore as chairman of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party since 2018.
Snap general elections were held in Greenland on 6 April 2021 alongside local elections. Inuit Ataqatigiit emerged as the largest party, winning 12 of the 31 seats in the Inatsisartut. The governing Siumut party finished second with 10 seats.
Naaja Nathanielsen is a Greenlandic politician of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party. She was a member of the Inatsisartut from 2009 to 2016, and was re-elected in 2021. She has been the director of Greenland's department of prisons and probation from 2016, and became minister for natural resources in 2021. In her role as minister for natural resources, she banned uranium mining. She is a feminist, and has spoken against domestic violence in the country.
Aqqaluaq Biilmann Egede is a Greenlandic politician from Inuit Ataqatigiit. He has been minister for raw materials and justice since April 2022, and he had previously been minister of finance and taxes (2016-2018) and minister of fisheries and prisoners (2021-2022).
