Parliament of Greenland
| |
|---|---|
| 15th Inatsisartut | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 May 1979 |
| Preceded by | Greenland Provincial Council |
New session started | 7 April 2025 |
| Leadership | |
First Vice Speaker | |
Second Vice Speaker | Mette Arqe-Hammeken, Naleraq since 7 April 2025 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 31 |
Political groups | Government (23)
Opposition (8)
|
Length of term | Up to 4 years |
| Elections | |
| Open listproportional representation allocated under theD'Hondt method | |
First election | 4 April 1979 |
Last election | 11 March 2025 |
Next election | 2029 |
| Meeting place | |
| Inatsisartut,Nuuk,Sermersooq | |
| Website | |
| inatsisartut.gl | |
TheInatsisartut (Greenlandic:Inatsisartut,lit. 'those who make the law',[1]Greenlandic pronunciation:[inatt͡sisɑtːʉt];Danish:Landstinget,lit. 'the land'sthing'), also known as theParliament of Greenland in English,[2] is theunicameralparliament (legislative branch) ofGreenland, anautonomous territory[3] in theDanish Realm. Established in 1979, the parliament convenes in the Inatsisartut building, located on an islet inNuuk Centrum in centralNuuk.
The Inatsisartut is composed of 31 members, who are elected for four-year terms throughproportional representation. Its functions include electing its presidium, debating and passing legislation, scrutinizing the government, and discussing financial matters. ThePrime Minister is elected by the Inatsisartut, and appoints the members of theNaalakkersuisut (Government) with parliamentary approval. The parliament has the authority to remove the cabinet or an individual minister through avote of no confidence. The Prime Minister holds the prerogative to call for anearly election, dissolving the parliament.
The Parliament of Greenland succeeded theprovincial council (Danish:GrønlandsLandsråd) on 1 May 1979. The parliament is led by a presidency comprising four members of the parliament, and the chairman.
ThePresidium of the Inatsisartut is made up of a Speaker and four Vice Speakers, all elected from among the members of the parliament. The Speaker is thepresiding officer, holds a full-time position and carries out the duties of the Presidium.[4][5] Following ageneral election, the Prime Minister nominates the Speaker, who must then be confirmed by the members of the parliament.[6]
The Presidium is responsible for a range of duties regarding the routine administration of the Inatsisartut, including overseeing the working conditions of parliamentarians and managing interactions between the parliament and the government. The Presidium also acts as the public representative of the parliament, ensuring efficient communication of parliamentary activities and outcomes to the public. It is also tasked with the archiving of parliamentary records and documents.
| Speaker | Siumut | Kim Kielsen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vice Speakers | Inuit Ataqatigiit | Mimi Karlsen | |
| Naleraq | Mette Arqe-Hammeken | ||
| Demokraatit | Per Berthelsen | ||
| Atassut | Aqqalu C. Jerimiassen | ||
| Substitute Members | Siumut | Lars Poulsen | |
| Inuit Ataqatigiit | Pipaluk Lynge | ||
| Naleraq | Qupanuk Olsen | ||
| Demokraatit | Simigaq Heilmann | ||
| Atassut | Knud Kleemann | ||
The speaker is thepresiding officer of the Inatsisartut. The speaker determines which members may speak, and is responsible for maintaining order. On 3 October 2018, Siumut hadVivian Motzfeldt, the outgoing Foreign Minister, elected. On 16 April 2021,Hans Enoksen was elected again. The current Speaker of the Inatsisartut isKim Kielsen, who served asPrime Minister from 2016 to 2021.
Members of the Inatsisartut are elected through a general, direct, free, equal, and secret vote. In order to be eligible, candidates must be eligible to vote themselves and must not have committed criminal offenses that would generally disqualify them from holding office, known as the "integrity requirement." The extent to which a candidate meets this requirement is determined by the Inatsisartut, based on the recommendations of the Committee for the Scrutiny of Eligibility, after the election has been held.
To run in an election for the Inatsisartut, candidates must also be registered on theelectoral roll, which has the following requirements:
Election results are counted using theD'Hondt system, a method ofproportional representation. Since 1998, Greenland has ceased to be divided into electoral districts, with the entire country now serving as asingle constituency.
The most recent elections were held on 11 March 2025.
| Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 8,563 | 30.26 | +21.01 | 10 | +7 | |
| Naleraq | 7,009 | 24.77 | +12.51 | 8 | +4 | |
| Inuit Ataqatigiit | 6,119 | 21.62 | –15.82 | 7 | –5 | |
| Siumut | 4,210 | 14.88 | –15.22 | 4 | –6 | |
| Atassut | 2,092 | 7.39 | +0.31 | 2 | 0 | |
| Qulleq | 305 | 1.08 | New | 0 | New | |
| Total | 28,298 | 100.00 | – | 31 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 28,298 | 98.87 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 322 | 1.13 | ||||
| Total votes | 28,620 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 40,369 | 70.90 | +4.98 | |||
| Source: Qinersineq.gl[7] | ||||||
| Municipality | Party by percentage:[7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | D | IA | N | Q | S | |
| Avannaata | 8.6 | 29 | 11.5 | 33.7 | 0.5 | 16.3 |
| Kujalleq | 7.8 | 27.9 | 27 | 15.2 | 1.6 | 18.8 |
| Qeqertalik | 7.9 | 25.4 | 19.4 | 31.5 | 1.2 | 13.6 |
| Sermersooq | 6.1 | 33.5 | 26.9 | 18.5 | 0.6 | 13 |
| Qeqqata | 8.2 | 26.4 | 16.8 | 30.1 | 2.3 | 15.2 |

Denmark has established very specific territorial autonomies with its two island territories
Faroese and Greenlandic are seen as official regional languages in the self-governing territories belonging to Denmark
Greenland ... is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark
Qinersineq was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).64°10′42″N51°44′26″W / 64.17833°N 51.74056°W /64.17833; -51.74056