Parliament of Greenland
Encyclopedia
The Parliament of Greenland is the legislature
(in this case, a parliament
) in the government
of Greenland
, an autonomous province of Denmark
. The government of Greenland is also called Home Rule of Greenland. 16 seats are needed for a majority.
times and was formed by the freemen of the community
. In those times it was called a 'ting,' which numbered a hundred men. The tings would meet at a much larger place called a 'land' thus the phrase landsting.
Chairmen of the Parliament:
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
(in this case, a parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
) in the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, an autonomous province of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The government of Greenland is also called Home Rule of Greenland. 16 seats are needed for a majority.
Origin of the name
The word Landsting comes from an ancient Scandinavian term meaning council. It first came into being during VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
times and was formed by the freemen of the community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
. In those times it was called a 'ting,' which numbered a hundred men. The tings would meet at a much larger place called a 'land' thus the phrase landsting.
History
It succeeded the Landsråd on May 1, 1979, the Parliament is led by a Presidency comprising four members of the Parliament and the Chairman. There are 31 members in the Assembly.Chairmen of the Parliament:
- 1997-1999: Anders Andreassen
- 1999-2001: Ole Lynge (Inuit Ataqatigiit)
- 2001-2003: Daniel Skifte (Atassut)
- 2003-2008: Jonathan MotzfeldtJonathan MotzfeldtJonathan Motzfeldt was the first and third Prime Minister of Greenland.From 1979 to 1988, in 1997 and from 2003 to 2008, he was Chairman of the Greenland Landsting. He was prime minister twice, from 1 May 1979 to 18 March 1991 and from 19 September 1997 to 14 December 2002...
- 2008-2009: Ruth Heilmann
- 2009-Present: Josef MotzfeldtJosef MotzfeldtJosef Motzfeldt is a Greenland politician and serves as Minister for Finance and Foreign Affairs in the Greenland Homerule Gorvernment.He is the current president of the West Nordic Council....
Recent results
The current standing of Greenland's Parliamentary Assembly:See also
- FolketingFolketingThe Folketing , is the national parliament of Denmark. The name literally means "People's thing"—that is, the people's governing assembly. It is located in Christiansborg Palace, on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen....
(Denmark) - LøgtingLøgtingLøgting is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, a self-ruling dependency of Denmark.The name literally means "Law Thing" - that is, a law assembly - and derives from Old Norse lǫgþing, which was a name given to ancient assemblies. A ting or Þing has existed on the Faroe Islands for over...
(Faroe Islands) - Alþing (Iceland)
- Storting (Norway)
- Riksdagen (Sweden)
- LagtingParliament of ÅlandThe Lagting, or Lagtinget, is the parliament of Åland, an autonomous, demilitarised and unilingually Swedish-speaking territory of Finland. The Lagting has 30 seats.- Elections :- See also :*Government of Åland, or Ålands landskapsregering...
(Åland)