Parliament of Greenland

Parliament of Greenland
Parliament of Greenland; Kalaallit Nunaanni Inatsisartut (Greenlandic); Grønlands Landsting (Danish);
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Lars Emil Johansen, Siumut; Since 5 April 2013
Structure
Seats	31
Political groups	Government (17) Siumut (11) Democrats (4) Atassut (2) Opposition (14) Inuit Ataqatigiit (11) Partii Naleraq (3)
Elections
Voting system	Open list proportional representation with a 2% election threshold
Last election	28 November 2014
Next election	2018 or earlier
Meeting place
	Inatsisartut, Nuuk
Website
	www.inatsisartut.gl

The Parliament of Greenland (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaanni Inatsisartut; Danish: Grønlands Landsting) is the legislature (in this case, a parliament) in the government of Greenland, an autonomous country of Denmark. The government of Greenland is also called Self-Government of Greenland. 16 seats are needed for a majority. The Government is divided into ministries, and departments in the ministries handle the practical administrative work. Ministers are politically responsible for the work of those departments.^[1]

Origin of the name[edit]

The word Landsting comes from an ancient Scandinavian term meaning council. It first came into being during Viking times and was formed by the freemen of the community. In those times it was called a 'ting,' which numbered a hundred men. These tings would be for the whole country or 'land' thus the phrase 'landsting'.

History[edit]

The Parliament of Greenland succeeded the Provincial Council (Danish: Grønlands Landsråd) 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 Assembly.

Speaker[edit]

The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Inatsisartut. The Speaker determines which members may speak, and is responsible for maintaining order during debates. The current Speaker is Lars Emil Johansen, former leader of the Forward Party.^[2] The Speaker is nominated by the Prime Minister immediately following a general election and is confirmed by members; the Speaker appoints four deputies.^[2]

Current composition[edit]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Siumut	10,102	34.6	11	–3
	Inuit Ataqatigiit	9,776	33.5	11	0
	Democrats	3,468	11.9	4	+2
	Partii Naleraq	3,423	11.7	3	New
	Solidarity	1,919	6.6	2	0
	Inuit Party	477	1.6	0	–2
	Independents	22	0.1	0	0
Invalid/blank votes		301	–	–	–
Total		29,488	100	31	0
Registered voters/turnout		40,424	72.9	–	–
Source: Qinersineq

The social democrat Siumut party formed a coalition government with two right-wing parties, the Democrats and Atassut.

Recent results[edit]

The current standing of Greenland's Parliamentary Assembly after the Greenlandic general election, 2014:

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Siumut	10,102	34.6	11	–3
	Inuit Ataqatigiit	9,776	33.5	11	0
	Democrats	3,468	11.9	4	+2
	Partii Naleraq	3,423	11.7	3	New
	Solidarity	1,919	6.6	2	0
	Inuit Party	477	1.6	0	–2
	Independents	22	0.1	0	0
Invalid/blank votes		301	–	–	–
Total		29,488	100	31	0
Registered voters/turnout		40,424	72.9	–	–
Source: Qinersineq