Politics of Greenland
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Template:Politics of Greenland
Country name:
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Greenland
local long form:
none
local short form:
Kalaallit Nunaat (meaning Land of the Greenlanders in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic Inuit language)
Data code: GL
Dependency status: part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979
Government type: parliamentary democracy within a Constitutional monarchy
Capital: Nuuk (Danish: Godthåb)
Administrative divisions: 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Danish: Nordgrønland), Tunu (Danish: Østgrønland), Kitaa (Danish: Vestgrønland)
Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979)
National holiday: Longest day of the year, 21 June
Constitution: 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)
Legal system: Danish
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen Margaret II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Gunnar Martens (since 1995)
Head of government: Prime Minister Hans Enoksen (since 14 December 2002)
Cabinet: Landsstyre is formed from the Parliament on the basis of the strength of parties
Elections: The monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 3 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2006)
Legislative branch
Unicameral Parliament or Landsting (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms). The last elections were held 3 December 2002 (next to be held by NA December 2006). For recent election results, see below.
Two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 20 November 2001 (next to be held no later than November 2005); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1
Judicial branch
High Court or Landsret.
Political parties and leaders
| Party | Vote ¹ | Seats ² | Leader | Description ³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siumut | 28.7% | 10 | Hans Enoksen | Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark |
| Inuit Ataqatigiit | 25.5% | 8 | Josef Motzfeldt | Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule |
| Atassut Party | 20.4% | 7 | Augusta Salling | Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark |
| Demokratiit | 15.6% | 5 | Per Berthelsen | |
| Katusseqatigiit | 5.3% | 1 | n/a | Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform |
| Akulliit Party | n/a | 0 | Bjarne Kreutzmann | |
| Issituup | n/a | 0 | Nicolai Heinrich | Polar Party |
Notes
- ¹ Percentage of votes at elections for Landsting on 3 December 2002
- ² Seats in Landsting (2002-2006)
- ³ Originally from the CIA World Factbook
International organization participation
Nordic Council, Nordic Investment Bank
Diplomatic representations
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Flag description
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white (see Greenlandic national flag)
- See also : Greenland