Greenland Government – Yahoo! Education

Greenland Government:

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland
local long form: none
local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat

Dependency status:
part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979

Government type:
Parliamentary democracy within a constitutional monarchy

Capital:
Nuuk (Godthab)

Administrative divisions:
3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: There are 18 municipalities in Greenland

Independence:
none (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:
longest day, June 21

Constitution:
5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

Legal system:
Danish

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Peter LAURITEEN (since NA 2002); note -
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002)
cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties
elections: The monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 3 December 2002 (next to be held December 2006)
election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister
note: Government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit

Legislative branch:
Unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Last held on 3 December 2002 (next to be held by December 2006)
election results: Percent of vote by party - Siumut 28.7%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 25.5%, Atassut Party 20.4%, Demokratiit 15.6%, Katusseqatigiit 5.3%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit 8, Atassut 7, Demokratiit 5, Katusseqatigiit 1
note: Two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1

Judicial branch:
High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen)

Political parties and leaders:
Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Augusta SALLING]; Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Hans ENOKSEN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
NC, NIB, UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Flag description:
Two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white

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World Factbook: Greenland Government

Greenland

Greenland Government: