Greenland

V

Government

In a referendum in 1979, Greenland voted for home rule. Denmark continues to administer external affairs. Executive power is held by a seven-member body, the Landsstyre, headed by a premier. Legislative power is vested in a 31-member parliament, the Landsting. Greenlanders elect two representatives to the Danish parliament.

VI

History

Greenland was first explored by Erik the Red, a Norwegian settler in Iceland and father of Leif Eriksson, toward the end of the 10th century, and Icelandic settlements were subsequently established there under his leadership. By the early 15th century, however, these settlements had vanished, and all contact with Greenland was lost. In the course of the search for the Northwest Passage, Greenland was sighted again. The English navigator John Davis visited the island in 1585, and his explorative work, together with that of the English explorers Henry Hudson and William Baffin, afforded knowledge of the west coast of Greenland.

A

Danish Authority Established

The foundation of Danish rule was laid by a mission at Godthåb (now Nuuk) in 1721 by a Norwegian missionary, Hans Egede. In the 19th century Greenland was explored and mapped by numerous explorers and navigators. From 1930 to 1931, British and German expeditions made weather observations on the inland ice north of the Arctic Circle. In 1933 an American expedition sponsored by the University of Michigan and Pan-American Airways engaged in meteorological research more than 545 km (more than 340 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.

The United States relinquished its claim to land in northern Greenland, based on the explorations of the American explorer Robert Edwin Peary, when it purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917. In May 1921, Denmark declared the entire island of Greenland to be Danish territory, causing a dispute with Norway over hunting and fishing rights. In 1931 a strip of land on the east coast was claimed by some Norwegian hunters, whose action was later recognized by the Norwegian government. The occupation was invalidated by the Permanent Court of International Justice at The Hague in 1933.

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B

U.S. Protection

Germany's occupation of Denmark in 1940, during World War II, brought the status of Greenland again into question. Negotiations between the U.S. government and the Danish minister to Washington resulted in an agreement on April 9, 1941, granting the United States the right “to construct, maintain and operate such landing fields, seaplane facilities and radio and meteorological installations as may be necessary” to protect the status quo in the western hemisphere; the United States also assumed protective custody over Greenland for the duration of World War II, although recognizing Danish sovereignty.

Greenland is the source of many of the weather changes in the northern hemisphere, and knowledge of Greenland weather is of prime importance for the prediction of conditions in the North Atlantic Ocean and in western Europe. Weather and radio stations are of inestimable value for Atlantic air traffic. In 1944, during World War II, a German radio-weather station on the northeast coast was destroyed by the U.S. Coast Guard, and various German attempts to establish weather bases on Greenland were thwarted by Coast Guard vessels. In May 1947, Denmark requested that the United States end the 1941 agreement. Protracted negotiations culminated during April 1951, in a 20-year pact providing for Danish control of the chief U.S. naval station in Greenland and for the establishment of jointly operated defense areas. By the terms of other provisions, the armed forces of the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were authorized to use all naval, air, and military bases on the island. In the early 1950s the United States expanded its military operations in Greenland, constructing a vast strategic air base at Thule, about 1,500 km (about 930 mi) from the North Pole.

In June 1952, the Danish government and private Danish, Swedish, and Canadian interests formed a company to exploit deposits of zinc, lead, tungsten, and cryolite in eastern Greenland.

C

New Political Status

Under the new Danish constitution of May 1953, the country became an integral part of the Danish monarchy and obtained representation in the national parliament. Greenland and Denmark both joined the European Community in 1972.

Following a popular referendum in January 1979, Greenland attained home rule. Elections in April of that year for a new parliament were won by the left-wing Siumut Party. In a referendum held in February 1982, the Greenlanders voted by a narrow margin to withdraw from the European Community (now called the European Union); the withdrawal was completed by early 1985. In the June 1984 elections, the Siumut (Forward) Party and a moderate opposition group, the Atassut (Community) Party, each won 11 seats in parliament; the Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), or Inuit Brotherhood, won 3 seats. Results of the May 1987 elections were similarly divided. In March 1991 the balance shifted as Atassut lost three seats and the IA gained two. In elections held in March 1995 Siumut won 12 seats and formed a coalition government with Atassut, which won 10 seats; the IA secured 6 seats.

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