Inuit Ataqatigiit

Community of the People
Inuit Ataqatigiit
AbbreviationIA
ChairpersonMúte Bourup Egede[1]
Founded8 November 1976 (as a political organisation)[2]
21 November 1978 (as a political party)[3]
HeadquartersNuuk, Greenland
Youth wingInuit Ataqatigiit Inuusuttaat
IdeologyGreenlandic independence[4][5]
Democratic socialism[5][6]
Environmentalism[7]
Left-wing nationalism[8]
Political positionLeft-wing[9][10]
Nordic affiliationNordic 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

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]

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]

  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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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.