The Naalakkersuisut or the Government of Greenland () is the chief executive body, the cabinet and the government 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 ...

since the island became self-governing in 1979. As an autonomous territory of the

Kingdom of Denmark 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 ...

, Greenland is a

parliamentary 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 ...

representative democratic

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

, in which the

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

() leads the cabinet, and of a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...

. There are currently 10 members of the Cabinet, known as "Ministers" (), all of whom are also heads of specific government ministries. The ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister. The Greenlandic government currently consists of 10 ministers including the Prime Minister.

Executive power

Executive power rests with a high commissioner, and a

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 ...

heads the Cabinet. The high commissioner of Greenland since 2011 is appointed by the

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

( King Frederik X), and the prime minister is elected indirectly by parliament elections results for four-year terms.

Current cabinet

The Naalakkersuisut is divided into a number of areas of responsibility each led by a ''Naalakkersuisoq'' () with powers corresponding to that of a minister or secretary of government. The cabinet is based on a coalition in the Inatsisartut of the parties Democrats with the support of Inuit Ataqatigiit, Siumut, and Atassut. Since 28 March 2025, the current composition of the Naalakkersuisut is as follows:

Legislative power

Legislative power is shared by the government and the legislature. The legislature or Self-rule of Greenland (, ) is made up of 31 members in the '' Inatsisartut'' elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms. The composition following the 2025 general election, and lasting into 2029, is shown below: Following the 2025 general election, the Democrats won the most seats (10) while Naleraq won the second most seats (8).

Judicial power

The

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

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 Kingdom Parliament ''

Folketing The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...

''. Greenland's judicial system has mainly been derived from the Danish civil law system. It has one court of first instance: the Court of Greenland, and an appeal court the High Court of Greenland. No appeal is possible to decisions of the Joint Court of Justice, but fundamental "questions of law" may be submitted to the Østre Landsret and the Supreme Court of Denmark in

cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

. Verdicts by those institutions may lead to a new decision of the Joint Court, taking into account the results of the cassation.

History

Naalakkersuisut 2013

Parliamentary elections were held on March 12, 2013, and Aleqa Hammond, leader of the Siumut party, was designated as prime minister by a coalition of the parties Siumut, Partii Inuit, and Atassut.

Naalakkersuisut 2014

Parliamentary elections were held on 28 November 2014 and Kim Kielsen, leader of the Siumut party, was designated as prime minister by a coalition of the parties Siumut, Democrats, and Atassut. The coalition was formed on 4 December 2014, Siumut has five ministers, Democrats 2 and Attasut 2.

Naalakkersuisut 2016

In late October 2016, the current government coalition was changed to consist of the parties Siumut (S), Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), and Partii Naleraq (PN). The composition of the Naalakkersuisut was as follows:

References

External links

Naalakkersuisut.gl - Official website of The Cabinet of Greenland

Naalakkersuisut.gl - Official website of The Cabinet of Greenland
{{Authority control Government of Greenland

Politics of Greenland Greenland politics-related lists