Inuit Ataqatigiit

Inuit Ataqatigiit (Greenlandic: [inuit atɑqat͡siɣiːt], lit. 'Community of the People', Danish: Folkets Samfund, IA) is a democratic socialist, separatist political party in Greenland^[11][12] that aims to make Greenland an independent state.^[13] The party, founded as a political organisation in 1976, was born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s. Traditionally in favour of a socialist economy, the party has been criticised from the left of having gradually moved towards a capitalist approach, supporting a market economy and privatisation.^[14] Inuit Ataqatigiit believes that an independent Greenland should be competitive^[15] while fighting to keep the environment clean.^[16]

Community of the People Inuit Ataqatigiit
Abbreviation	IA
Chairperson	Múte Bourup Egede[1]
Founded	8 November 1976 (as a political organisation)[2] 21 November 1978 (as a political party)[3]
Headquarters	Nuuk, Greenland
Youth wing	Inuit Ataqatigiit Inuusuttaat
Ideology	Greenlandic independence[4][5] Democratic socialism[5][6] Environmentalism[7] Left-wing nationalism[8]
Political position	Left-wing[9][10]
Nordic affiliation	Nordic Green Left Alliance
Colours	Red and white
Inatsisartut	12 / 31
Municipalities	32 / 81
Mayors	2 / 5
Folketing (Greenland seats)	1 / 2
Election symbol
Website
ia.gl
Politics of Greenland Political parties Elections

In 1982, the party successfully campaigned in a national referendum for Greenland to leave the European Economic Community (EEC). Inuit Ataqatigiit is represented in the Folketing (the Danish parliament) by Aaja Chemnitz Larsen. Múte B. Egede has been the party's leader since December 2018.

Inuit Ataqatigiit made a major electoral breakthrough in the 2009 Greenlandic parliamentary election. Making gains from the 2005 Greenlandic parliamentary election, it doubled its total number of seats in the Parliament from seven to 14 seats out of 31, just two seats short of a majority, and nearly doubled its total vote share from 22.4% to 43.7%. It supplanted both its coalition partners, shifting the Forward party from first to second and the Democrats party from second to third.^[11][13] At the 2014 elections, the party obtained 11 members in the Greenlandic parliament, but after elections in 2018, their share decreased to eight seats.^[17] Following the 2021 elections, Inuit Ataqatigiit once again became the largest party in the Greenlandic parliament, with 12 seats.^[18]

Election results

Parliament of Greenland (Inatsisartut)

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1979	813	4.4 (#4)	0 / 21	New
1983	2,612	10.6 (#3)	2 / 26	2
1984	2,732	12.1 (#3)	3 / 25	1
1987	3,823	15.3 (#3)	4 / 27	1
1991	4,848	19.4 (#3)	5 / 27	2
1995	5,180	20.3 (#3)	6 / 31	1
1999	6,214	22.1 (#3)	7 / 31	1
2002	7,244	25.3 (#2)	8 / 31	1
2005	6,517	22.6 (#3)	7 / 31	1
2009	12,457	43.7 (#1)	14 / 31	7
2013	10,374	34.4 (#2)	11 / 31	3
2014	9,783	33.2 (#2)	11 / 31	0
2018	7,478	25.5 (#2)	8 / 31	3
2021	9,933	37.4 (#1)	12 / 31	4

Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark (Folketinget)

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1984	2,939	13.7 (#3)	0 / 2	New
1987	2,001	12.5 (#3)	0 / 2	0
1988	3,628	17.3 (#3)	0 / 2	0
1990	3,281	17.0 (#3)	0 / 2	0
1994	did not run [19]
1998	4,988	21.4 (#3)	0 / 2	0
2001	7,172	30.8 (#1)	1 / 2	1
2005	5,774	25.5 (#2)	1 / 2	0
2007	8,068	32.5 (#T-1)[a]	1 / 2	0
2011	9,780	42.7 (#1)	1 / 2	0
2015	7,904	38.5 (#1)	1 / 2	0
2019	6,881	33.4 (#1)	1 / 2	0
2022	4,852	25.2 (#2)	1 / 2	0

1. Tied with Siumut.

References

1. Egede, Múte (21 November 2018). "Sermitsiaq". Retrieved 1 August 2019.
2. "Inuusuttut Ataqatigiit – Ukiuni 40-ni". Inuit Ataqatigiit (in Kalaallisut). 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
3. Sommer, Karsten (2018-11-21). "Inuit Ataqatigiit - et pragmatisk parti fylder 40 år". KNR (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-09-06.
4. "Pro-independence party wins Greenland parliament election". Agence France-Presse. The Times of India. 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
5. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Greenland/Denmark". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
6. "Greenland wakes up to first power shift in 30 years". The Copenhagen Post. 2009-06-03. Archived from the original on 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
7. Neuman, Scott. "Opposition Wins Elections In Greenland, Casting Doubt On Future Of Rare-Earth Mine". NPR. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
8. "Rechtsschwenk in Dänemark". Ökodepaso. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
9. Christina Bergqvist (1 January 1999). Equal Democracies?: Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Nordic Council of Ministers. p. 319. ISBN 978-82-00-12799-4.
10. "Anti-mine party wins Greenland election". The West Australian. 7 April 2021.
11. "Opposition win Greenland election". BBC News. 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
12. Ringstrom, Anna (2009-06-03). "Landslide win for Greenland opposition". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
13. Olsen, Jan M. (2009-06-03). "Left-wing party set to take power in Greenland after winning parliamentary vote". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-06-04.^{[dead link‍]}
14. Carlsen, Aksel V. (2007-08-02). "IA i et Grønland på vej mod selvstyre". Arbejderen (in Danish). Archived from the original on Oct 1, 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
15. Loukacheva, Natalia (2007). The Arctic Promise: Legal and Political Autonomy of Greenland and Nunavut. University of Toronto Press. p. 61.
16. Boersma, Tim; Foley, Kevin (2015-01-16). "Dark Clouds Gather over Greenland's Mining Ambitions". Brookings Edu. paragraph 4. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
17. Valg.gl
18. Gronholt-Pedersen, Jacob (2021-04-07). "Left-wing party opposed to big mining project wins Greenland election". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
19. Sim.dk Archived 2020-11-29 at the Wayback Machine "Folketingsvalget den 21 september 1994" Retrieved 17 January 2021

External links

• Official website
• The North Atlantic Group in the Danish Parliament