Siumut (SIU, ; ; ) is a
political party in Greenland in the
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
tradition.
Since the establishment of
home rule
Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...
in 1979, it has been the dominant party in Greenland. Siumut is led by
Erik Jensen, who beat the then-incumbent
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 ...
Kim Kielsen
Kim Kielsen (born 30 November 1966) is a Greenlandic politician and former police officer who has served as Speaker of the Inatsisartut since 2025. He previously served as leader of the Siumut party and sixth prime minister of Greenland betwe ...
in a tight leadership contest in late 2020.
Party members have been elected to both the
parliament of Greenland
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
*
*
* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parl ...
and the
parliament of Denmark
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 ...
.
History
Siumut was formed in 1971 as a political movement, and became a party in 1977. Following the establishment of home rule in Greenland in January 1979, the party won 13 of 21 seats in the
1979 Greenlandic general election
General elections were held in Greenland on 4 April 1979, the first election to the new Inatsisartut after the introduction of home rule. The result was a victory for the separatist and left wing Siumut, which won 13 of the 21 seats in the Parli ...
for the newly formed
Parliament of Greenland
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
*
*
* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parl ...
, and party chairman
Jonathan Motzfeldt
Jonathan Jakob Jørgen Otto Motzfeldt (25 September 1938 – 28 October 2010) was a Greenlandic priest and politician. He is considered one of the leading figures in the establishment of Greenland Home Rule. became the first
.
Following the
1991 Greenlandic general election
General elections were held in Greenland on 5 March 1991. Siumut emerged as the largest party in the Parliament, winning 11 of the 27 seats. , Motzfeldt stepped down and was replaced by
Lars Emil Johansen
Lars-Emil Johansen (born 24 September 1946) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the second prime minister of Greenland from 1991 to 1997, and Speaker of the Inatsisartut from 2013 to 2018.
Johansen was chairman of the political party ''Si ...
, also of Siumut, who governed in coalition with
Inuit Ataqatigiit
Inuit Ataqatigiit (, old spelling: , , , IA) is a democratic socialist, Greenlandic independence, pro-independence political party in Greenland. It is represented in the Folketing (the Danish parliament) by Aaja Chemnitz Larsen. Múte B. Egede ha ...
.
Between 1997 and 2002, Motzfeldt was again Prime Minister, until he was succeeded by
Hans Enoksen
Hans Enoksen (born 7 August 1956) is a Greenlandic politician who has been a member of the Parliament of Greenland since 1995, and was prime minister of Greenland from 2002 to 2009, the third to hold the position.
A monolingualism, unilingual Gre ...
.
From 1979 until 2009 and since 2013, members of Siumut have served as Greenland's Prime Minister. In the
15 November 2005 general election, the party won 30.7% of the popular vote and 10 out of 31 seats in the parliament. In the
2009 general election, it won 26.5% of the popular vote and nine seats and in the
2013 election, it won 42.8% of the popular vote and 14 out of 31 seats. At the
2014 election, the party was still the largest party; however, it lost three members of the parliament and has now 11 members. Siumut further declined to nine seats in the
2018 Greenlandic general election
General elections were held in Greenland on 24 April 2018, electing all 31 members of Parliament. The elections were required to be held no later than 26 November 2018, four years after the previous elections on 27 November 2014, but Prime Minis ...
. The party gained one seat at the
2021 election, but suffered an historic defeat in
2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
, winning just four seats and falling to fourth place in the
Inatsisartut
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
*
*
* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parli ...
— the party had never had fewer than nine seats and had never been smaller than the second-largest party in the country.
Positions
The party was an observer affiliate of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...
.
Member Parties of the Socialist International
/ref>
Siumut representatives sitting in the Danish parliament
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 ...
have been attached to the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
.
Election results
Inatsisartut
Folketing
Notes
External links
Official websiteGreenlandic Parliament official websiteThe North Atlantic Group in the Danish Parliament
References
{{Danish political parties
Political parties in Greenland
Social democratic parties
Socialist parties in Greenland
Greenlandic nationalism
Former member parties of the Socialist International