After several years of ballad, Greenland finally gets its ambassador: Understand the situation here.

After several years of debate, Greenland will finally have its own arctic ambassador: Understanding the issue

Only Danish citizens have previously held the position of arctic ambassador, but now the way has been paved for a Greenlandic person.

Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M) has been one of the main figures in the dispute over the ambassador post in the Arctic Council. (Photo: ROLEX DELA PENA, Ritzau Scanpix) 55 minutes ago

When Greenland takes over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council next year, it will do so with an ambassador of its own, whom the Greenlandic government, Naalakkersuisut, has itself appointed.

The Danish Foreign Ministry has just announced this in a press release ( https://um.dk/#/embedded/release/14203091/greenland-the-faroe-islands-and-denmark-agree-on-role-distribution-under-greenland-s-chairmanship-of-the-arctic-council?publisherId=2012662&lang=da&widget=true ).

This decision pleases Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M).

- I also look forward to the fact that we will soon have appointed an arctic ambassador from Greenland to lead the efforts, in close cooperation with the foreign service personnel in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Denmark, to represent the interests of the entire kingdom in the Arctic Council.

This decision comes in the wake of several years of controversy.

Aaja Chemnitz (IA) has previously been critical of the choice of arctic ambassador. (Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen, Ritzau Scanpix)

------------------

Five in a row

------------------

The position of arctic ambassador has existed since 2012, and the five people who have held it have all been Danish.

Therefore, criticism erupted when Lars Løkke Rasmussen last year appointed the latest Dane to the position, Tobias Elling Rehfeld.

The Greenlandic government was particularly unhappy with this decision because they believed the post should have gone to a Greenlandic person.

This led to a conflict between the Greenlandic parliamentarians and Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

One of the critics of the decision was Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic parliamentarian from the Inuit Ataqatigiit party.

- In Greenland, we believe that an arctic ambassador should come from the Arctic and not a person who comes as a visitor, who may not necessarily have been a part of the Greenlandic society and does not know Greenland from the inside, she said back in August.

The Foreign Minister was not in agreement with the criticism at the time.

- We do not use ethnicity as a criterion for our appointments in the Danish foreign service, he said to Politiken in April last year.

------------------

Arctic ambassador

------------------

Since 2012, the Kingdom of Denmark has had an arctic ambassador.

Since the creation of the position, five Danes have held the position - the latest being Tobias Elling Rehfeld.

The role of the arctic ambassador is to represent the interests of the kingdom in the Arctic to the rest of the world.

-----------------------------------

The prime minister met Greenland

-----------------------------------

In August, however, there were new tones from the Danish government.

At a press conference, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) said that it would be natural for a future arctic ambassador to have a base in Greenland, as the country itself desires.

- I think so, too, that an arctic ambassador, whose primary focus is on the Arctic, even if it is on behalf of the entire kingdom, should have its base in the Greenlandic society and among the Greenlandic population.

- We want to accommodate that, she said.

And we are now on December 20, 2024, that is, today, when the Danish Foreign Ministry has announced that the Greenlandic government will be allowed to appoint the arctic ambassador.

Thus, the way for a Greenlandic ambassador has been paved.

Greenland will take over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council on May 12, 2025, on behalf of the Kingdom of Denmark. A chairmanship that the Kingdom of Denmark will hold for two years.

When Greenland has found a candidate, they must first be approved by Denmark and the Faroe Islands.

The ambassador will have an office in Copenhagen and the Greenlandic capital Nuuk.

Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=undefined )

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.