What is the capital of Greenland?
Country Name | Greenland |
Full Country Name | none |
Local - Long | none |
Local - Short | Kalaallit Nunaat |
Etymology- history of name | named by Norwegian adventurer Erik THORVALDSSON (Erik the Red) in A.D. 985 in order to entice settlers to the island |
Government Type | parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Greenland or Inatsisartut) |
Capital Name | Nuuk (Godthaab) |
Capital - geographic coordinate | 64 11 N, 51 45 W |
Capital Time Difference |
UTC-2 (3 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: Greenland has four time zones |
Daylight Savings Time | +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Independence | none (extensive self-rule as part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) |
National Holiday | National Day, June 21; note - marks the summer solstice and the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere |
Constitution | history: previous 1953 (Greenland established as a constituency in the Danish constitution), 1979 (Greenland Home Rule Act); latest 21 June 2009 (Greenland Self-Government Act) |
Dependency Status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 |
Who is the president of Greenland?
Executive Branch: |
chief of state: King FREDERIK X of Denmark (since 14 January 2024), represented by High Commissioner Mikaela ENGELL (since April 2011) (2024) head of government: Premier Mute B. EGEDE (since 23 April 2021) cabinet: Self-rule Government (Naalakkersuisut) elected by the Parliament (Inatsisartut) elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; premier indirectly elected by Parliament for a 4-year term election results: 2021: Mute B. EGEDE elected premier; Parliament vote - Mute B. EGEDE (Inuit Ataqatigiit) unanimous 2014: Kim KIELSEN elected premier; Parliament vote - Kim KIELSEN (S) 27.2%, Sara OLSVIG (IA) 25.5%, Randi Vestergaard EVALDSEN (D) 19.5%, other 27.8% |
Citizenship Criteria: | see Denmark |
Legal System: | the laws of Denmark apply where applicable and Greenlandic law applies to other areas |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
Legislative Branch: |
description: unicameral Parliament or Inatsisartut (31 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote - by the d'Hondt method - to serve 4-year terms) Greenland elects 2 members to the Danish Parliament to serve 4-year terms elections: Greenland Parliament - last held on 6 April 2021 (next to be held in 2025) Greenland members to Danish Parliament - last held on 5 June 2019 (next to be held by 4 June 2023) election results: Greenland Parliament - percent of vote by party - IA 38.7%, S 32.2%, N 12.9%, D 9.7%, A 6.5%; seats by party - IA 12, S 10, N 4, D 3, A 2; composition - men 21, women 10, percent of women 32.2% Greenland members in Danish Parliament - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - IA 1, S 1; composition - 2 women |
Judicial Branch: |
highest court(s): High Court of Greenland (consists of the presiding professional judge and 2 lay assessors); note - appeals beyond the High Court of Greenland can be heard by the Supreme Court (in Copenhagen) judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the monarch upon the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Council, a 6-member independent body of judges and lawyers; judges appointed for life with retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: Court of Greenland; 18 district or magistrates' courts |
Regions or States: |
5 municipalities (kommuner, singular kommune); Avannaata, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, Sermersooq note: Northeast Greenland National Park (Kalaallit Nunaanni Nuna Eqqissisimatitaq) and the Thule Air Base in Pituffik (in northwest Greenland) are two unincorporated areas; the national park's 972,000 sq km - about 46% of the island - makes it the largest national park in the world and also the most northerly |
Political Parties and Leaders: |
Democrats Party (Demokraatit) or D [Jens Frederik NIELSEN] Fellowship Party (Atassut) or A [Aqqalu JERIMIASSEN] Forward Party (Siumut) or S [Erik JENSEN] Inuit Community (Inuit Ataqatigiit) or IA [Mute Bourup EGEDE] Signpost Party (Naleraq) or N [Pele BROBERG] (formerly Partii Naleraq) |
International Organization Participation: | Arctic Council, ICC, NC, NIB, UPU |
Diplomatic Representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Kenneth HOEGH, Head of Representation; note - Greenland also has offices in the Danish consulates in Chicago and New York chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street, NW Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: +1 (202) 328-1470 email address and website: washington@nanoq.gl All Greenlandic Representations | Grønlands Repræsentation (grl-rep.dk); https://naalakkersuisut.gl/en/Naalakkersuisut/Groenlands-repraesentation-Washington |
Diplomatic Representation from US: |
chief of mission: Consul Monica BLAND (since July 2023) embassy: Aalisartut Aqqutaa 47 Nuuk 3900 Greenland telephone: (+299) 384100 email address and website: USConsulateNuuk@state.gov https://dk.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulate/nuuk/ |