The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

(

legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

) of

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources: * * * in the

Danish Realm The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

. Established in 1979, the parliament convenes in the Inatsisartut building, located on an islet in

Nuuk Centrum Nuuk Centrum is a district of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Together with the Old Nuuk neighborhood, it encompasses the southern and central part of the town. Most of the institutions and businesses are based in the district. Transport Nuup ...

in central

Nuuk Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...

. The Inatsisartut is composed of 31 members, who are elected for four-year terms through

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. Its functions include electing its presidium, debating and passing legislation, scrutinizing the government, and discussing financial matters. The

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

is elected by the Inatsisartut, and appoints the members of the Naalakkersuisut (Government) with parliamentary approval. The parliament has the authority to remove the cabinet or an individual minister through a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

. The Prime Minister holds the prerogative to call for an early election, dissolving the parliament.

History of the parliament

The Parliament of Greenland succeeded the provincial council () on 1 May 1979. The parliament is led by a presidency comprising four members of the parliament, and the chairman. There are 31 members in the Inatsisartut.

Speaker

The

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some countries' political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. The term is also sometimes used for the ...

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 the presiding officer, holds a full-time position and carries out the duties of the Presidium. Following a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, the Prime Minister nominates the Speaker, who must then be confirmed by the members of the parliament. 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. The speaker is the presiding officer of the Inatsisartut. The speaker determines which members may speak, and is responsible for maintaining order. On 3 October 2018, Siumut had Vivian Motzfeldt, the outgoing Foreign Minister, elected. On 16 April 2021, Hans Enoksen was elected again. The current Speaker of the Inatsisartut is Kim Kielsen, who served as

from 2016 to 2021.

Membership

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 the electoral roll, which has the following requirements: * The voter must be a Danish citizen, at least 18 years old on the election date, and have permanent residence in Greenland for at least six months immediately prior to the election. * The voter must not have been declared incapable of managing their own affairs. Election results are counted using the D'Hondt system, a method of

. Since 1998, Greenland has ceased to be divided into electoral districts, with the entire country now serving as a single constituency.

Recent results

The most recent elections were held on 11 March 2025.

Composition since 1979

Source
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inatsisartut Politics of Greenland Political organisations based in Greenland Politics of Denmark

1979 establishments in Greenland

Parliament of Greenland