Inuit Ataqatigiit

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
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing[9][10]
Nordic affiliationNordic Green Left Alliance
Colours    Red and white
Inatsisartut
7 / 31
Municipalities
16 / 81
Mayors
1 / 5
Folketing
(Greenland seats)
1 / 2
Election symbol
Website
ia.gl

Inuit Ataqatigiit ([inuit atɑqat͡siɣiːt], old spelling: Inuit Ataĸatigît, lit.'Community of the People', Danish: Folkets Samfund, IA) is a democratic socialist, pro-independence political party in Greenland.[11][12][13] It is represented in the Folketing (the Danish parliament) by Aaja Chemnitz Larsen. Múte B. Egede has been the party's leader since December 2018.

History

The party was founded as a political organisation in 1976, born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s.

In 1982, the party successfully campaigned in a national referendum for Greenland to leave the European Economic Community (EEC).

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.[14] Following the 2021 elections, Inuit Ataqatigiit once again became the largest party in the Greenlandic parliament, with 12 seats,[15] but fell to third place with 7 seats in 2025.

Ideology

The party has traditionally been in favour of a socialist economy, but parties to its left have criticised it for having gradually moved towards a capitalist approach, supporting a market economy and privatisation.[16] Inuit Ataqatigiit believes that an independent Greenland should be competitive[17] while fighting to keep the environment clean.[18]

Election results

Inatsisartut

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Status
1979 813 4.4
0 / 21
New 4th Opposition
1983 2,612 10.6
2 / 26
2 3rd External support
1984 2,732 12.1
3 / 25
1 3rd Coalition
1987 3,823 15.3
4 / 27
1 3rd Coalition (1987–1988)
Opposition (1988–1991)
1991 4,848 19.4
5 / 27
2 3rd Coalition
1995 5,180 20.3
6 / 31
1 3rd Opposition
1999 6,214 22.1
7 / 31
1 3rd Coalition (1999–2001)
Opposition (2001–2002)
2002 7,244 25.3
8 / 31
1 2nd Coalition (2002–2003)
Opposition (2003)
Coalition (2003–2005)
2005 6,517 22.6
7 / 31
1 2nd Coalition (2005–2007)
Opposition (2007–2009)
2009 12,457 43.7
14 / 31
7 1st Coalition
2013 10,374 34.4
11 / 31
3 2nd Opposition
2014 9,783 33.2
11 / 31
2nd Opposition (2014–2016)
Coalition (2016–2018)
2018 7,478 25.5
8 / 31
3 2nd Opposition
2021 9,933 37.4
12 / 31
4 1st Coalition
2025 6,119 21.6
7 / 31
5 3rd Coalition

Folketing

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

References

  1. ^ Egede, Múte (21 November 2018). "Sermitsiaq". Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. ^ Jane (2016-11-08). "Inuusuttut Ataqatigiit – Ukiuni 40-ni". Inuit Ataqatigiit (in Kalaallisut). 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 (7 April 2021). "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". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-06-04 – via Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ Valg.gl
  15. ^ Gronholt-Pedersen, Jacob (2021-04-07). "Left-wing party opposed to big mining project wins Greenland election". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Loukacheva, Natalia (2007). The Arctic Promise: Legal and Political Autonomy of Greenland and Nunavut. University of Toronto Press. p. 61.
  18. ^ Boersma, Tim; Foley, Kevin (2015-01-16). "Dark Clouds Gather over Greenland's Mining Ambitions". Brookings Edu. paragraph 4. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  19. ^ Sim.dk Archived 2020-11-29 at the Wayback Machine "Folketingsvalget den 21 september 1994" Retrieved 17 January 2021