Ruth Heilmann

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Ruth Heilmann (born 1945) is a Greenlandic teacher and politician who represents the Siumut party. In January 2008, she became the first female speaker of the Inatsisartut or Parliament of Greenland. The Parliament honoured her in April 2016 with the Nersornaat (gold), a medal for meritorious service, for a political career lasting over 20 years. [1] [2]

Siumut is a political party in Greenland in the social democracy tradition. Since the establishment of home rule in 1979, it has been the dominant party in Greenland. Siumut is led by Kim Kielsen, the current Prime Minister of Greenland.

Nersornaat

Nersornaat or the Greenland Medal for Meritorious Service(Danish:Grønlands Hjemmestyres Fortjenstmedalje), is awarded by the Greenland Home Rule government. It is the highest award based in Greenland. The medal was instituted on 1 May 1989 in connection with the ten-year anniversary of the Greenlandic home rule. The medal is awarded for meritious service for Greenland in fields such as public service, business, art or science. The medal is worn in a ribbon of the Greenlandic colours; red symbolising the sun and white symbolising the snow.

Contents

Biography

Born in 1945 in Arsuk, she was educated as a teacher and later moved into politics. In 1989, she became a member of the town council in Maniitsoq where she was elected mayor from 1997 to 2001. [3]

Arsuk Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Arsuk is a village in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It had 156 inhabitants in 2010. The name of the settlement means the beloved place in the Greenlandic language. The village is served by the communal all-purpose Pilersuisoq store.

Maniitsoq Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Maniitsoq, formerly Sukkertoppen, is a town in Maniitsoq Island, western Greenland located in the Qeqqata municipality. With 2,670 inhabitants as of 2013, it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland.

As a member of the Siumut party, she was elected to the parliament in 1995 and represented Greenland on the Nordic Council. [3] In December 2002, was Minister of Education, Church, Culture and Research, and shortly thereafter, in January 2003, Minister for Family and Health. [4]

Nordic Council geo-political inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries

The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary co-operation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and the Åland Islands. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective countries or areas and are elected by those parliaments. The Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme.

From January 2008 until June 2009, she was elected speaker of the Inatsisartut, becoming the first woman to hold the position. [2] She replaced Jonathan Motzfeldt who had been involved in a sex scandal. [1]

Jonathan Motzfeldt Prime Minister of Greenland

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 and third Prime Minister of Greenland. He was Greenland's prime minister from 1979 until 1991 and again from 1997 until 2002. He is Greenland's longest serving prime minister and has won the most elections of any prime minister of Greenland.

Heilmann has also been active in the church community, acting as the political head of Greenland's church from 2002 in her first ministerial appointment. On her appointment, she announced that more attention would be given to religion in education. She has been a keen church-goer and is an enthusiastic hymn singer. [2]

Ruth Heilmann, who lost her husband some time ago, has five children. She has also been a handball coach and is co-founder of Greenland's Handball Association. [2]

Awards

In May 1916, Heilmann was honoured with the gold Nersornaat medal for over 20 years of service in Greenlandic politics. It was presented by Lars-Emil Johansen, the former Prime Minister of Greenland. [2]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 Harbsmeier, Michael. "Ruth Heilmann" (in Danish). Gyldensal: Den Store Danske. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rasmussen, Inge S. (2 May 2016). "Ruth Heilmann tildelt Nersornaat i guld" (in Danish). KNR: Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  3. 1 2 Sørensen, Leif Kiil (17 December 2002). "Grønlands ny kirkeminister vil styrke undervisning". Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  4. ↑ "Ny koalition i Grønland" (in Danish). Vestnordisk Råd. 20 January 2003. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
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