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Siumut

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forward
Siumut
AbbreviationSIU
ChairpersonAleqa Hammond
Founded29 July 1977
HeadquartersNuuk
Youth wingSiumut Youth
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[7]
National affiliationSocial Democrats
Nordic affiliationSAMAK
The Social Democratic Group
Colours
  •   Red[a]
  •   Gold[b]
Inatsisartut
4 / 31
Municipalities
31 / 81
Mayors
2 / 5
Folketing
(Greenland seats)
0 / 2
Election symbol
Website
www.siumut.gl

Siumut (SIU, Greenlandic: Siumut [siumut]; Danish: Fremad; lit. 'Forward') is a political party in Greenland in the social democratic tradition.[8][9][10] Since the establishment of home rule in 1979, it has been the dominant party in Greenland. Siumut is led by Erik Jensen, who beat the then-incumbent Prime Minister Kim Kielsen in a tight leadership contest in late 2020.[11] Party members have been elected to both the parliament of Greenland and the parliament of Denmark.

History

[edit]

Siumut was formed in 1971 as a political movement, and became a party in 1977. Following the establishment of home rule in Greenland in January 1979, the party won 13 of 21 seats in the 1979 Greenlandic general election for the newly formed Parliament of Greenland (Inatsisartut), and party chairman Jonathan Motzfeldt became the first Prime Minister of Greenland.[5][9]

Following the 1991 Greenlandic general election, Motzfeldt stepped down and was replaced by Lars Emil Johansen, also of Siumut, who governed in coalition with Inuit Ataqatigiit.[5]

Between 1997 and 2002, Motzfeldt was again Prime Minister, until he was succeeded by Hans Enoksen.[9] In the 15 November 2005 general election, the party won 30.7% of the popular vote and 10 out of 31 seats in the parliament. In the 2009 general election, it won 26.5% of the popular vote and nine seats, but the further left and more nationalist Inuit Ataqatigiit won 14 seats and 44% of the popular vote, a landslide victory. Enoksen resigned as party leader and Prime Minister.

Under new party leader Aleqa Hammond, the 2013 election saw Siumut win 42.8% of the popular vote and 14 out of 31 seats, and form a coalition with support of the unionist Atassut and the eco-socialist Inuit Party. The coalition collapsed in 2014, triggering a new election that year. Siumut remained the largest party in the Inatsisartut, but won three fewer seats. New party leader Kim Kielsen replaced Hammond as Prime Minister, forming a coalition with Atassut and the Democrats. Siumut further declined to nine seats in the 2018 Greenlandic general election, though Kielsen was able to lead another coalition. The party gained one seat at the 2021 election, but Inuit Ataqatigiit surpassed Siumut to become the largest party in the Inatsisartut and Kielsen was replaced as Prime Minister by IA's Múte Bourup Egede.

On 10 February 2025, Folketing member Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam departed Siumut and joined Naleraq, claiming that Siumut was insufficiently committed to Greenlandic independence.[12] Her departure meant Siumut was unrepresented in the Folketing for the first time since 1998. The next month, Siumut suffered an historic defeat at the 2025 general election, winning just four seats and falling to fourth place in the Inatsisartut; the party had never had fewer than nine seats and had never been smaller than the second-largest party in the Inatsisartut. Siumut did ultimately join the Democrats-led governing coalition, which included four of the five parties in the Inatsisartut.

Positions

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The party was an observer affiliate of the Socialist International.[13]

Siumut representatives sitting in the Danish parliament have been attached to the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats.[9]

Election results

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Inatsisartut

[edit]
Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Status
1979 8,505 46.1
13 / 21
 New Increase 1st Majority
1983 10,371 42.3
12 / 26
 Decrease 1 Decrease 2nd Minority
1984 9,949 44.1
11 / 25
 Decrease 1 Increase 1st Coalition
1987 9,987 39.8
11 / 27
 Steady Decrease 2nd Coalition (1987–1988)
Minority (1988–1991)
1991 9,336 37.3
11 / 27
 Steady Increase 1st Coalition
1995 9,803 38.4
12 / 31
 Increase 1 Steady 1st Coalition
1999 9,899 35.2
11 / 31
 Decrease 1 Steady 1st Coalition
2002 8,151 28.5
10 / 31
 Decrease 1 Steady 1st Coalition
2005 8,861 30.7
10 / 31
 Steady Steady 1st Coalition
2009 7,567 26.5
9 / 31
 Decrease 1 Decrease 2nd Opposition
2013 12,910 42.8
14 / 31
 Increase 5 Increase 1st Coalition (2013–2014)
Minority (2014)
2014 10,108 34.3
11 / 31
 Decrease 3 Steady 1st Coalition
2018 7,959 27.2
9 / 31
 Decrease 2 Steady 1st Coalition
2021 7,986 30.1
10 / 31
 Increase 1 Decrease 2nd Opposition (2021–2022)
Coalition (2022–2025)
2025 4,210 14.9
4 / 31
 Decrease 6 Decrease 4th Coalition

Folketing

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Election Greenland
Votes % Seats +/– Position
1979 6,273 44.1
1 / 2
 New Increase 2nd
1981 7,176 37.7
1 / 2
 Steady Steady 2nd
1984 9,148 42.6
1 / 2
 Steady Steady 2nd
1987 6,944 43.3
1 / 2
 Steady Increase 1st
1988 8,415 40.1
1 / 2
 Steady Steady 1st
1990 8,272 42.8
1 / 2
 Steady Steady 1st
1994 did not contest[c]
1998 8,502 36.5
1 / 2
 Increase 1 Increase 1st
2001 8,272 25.9
1 / 2
 Steady Decrease 2nd
2005 7,761 34.3
1 / 2
 Steady Increase 1st
2007 8,068 32.5
1 / 2
 Steady Steady 1st
2011 8,499 37.1
1 / 2
 Steady Decrease 2nd
2015 7,831 38.2
1 / 2
 Steady Steady 2nd
2019 6,058 29.4
1 / 2
 Steady Steady 2nd
2022 7,424 38.6
1 / 2
 Steady Increase 1st

Party leaders

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# Leader Term of office Prime Minister
1 Jonathan Motzfeldt 29 July 1977 1978 1979–1991, 1997–2002
1978 1979
1980 12 August 1987
26 May 1998 17 September 2001
2 Moses Olsen 1978 -
3 Lars-Emil Johansen 1979 1980 1991–1997
12 August 1987 September 1997
4 Mikael Petersen September 1997 26 May 1998 -
5 Hans Enoksen 17 September 2001 8 June 2009 2002–2009
6 Aleqa Hammond 8 June 2009 18 October 2014 2013–2014
29 June 2025 Incumbent
7 Kim Kielsen 18 October 2014 29 November 2020 2014–2021
8 Erik Jensen 29 November 2020 12 March 2025 -
- Vivian Motzfeldt (interim) 12 March 2025 29 June 2025 -

Notes

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  1. ^ Since 2021
  2. ^ Prior to 2021
  3. ^ In the 1994 Danish general election, an independent won a seat in the Danish Parliament, but it seems the Siumut party did not contest that particular election.
[edit]

References

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  1. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Greenland/Denmark". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Anti-mine party wins Greenland election". The West Australian. 7 April 2021.
  3. ^ [1][2]
  4. ^ "Siumut wants independence for Greenland". DR. 21 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Bernard A. Cook (8 February 2001). Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 585. ISBN 978-1-135-17932-8.
  6. ^ "Greenland election shows divide over rare-earth metals mine". The Independent. 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ [5][6]
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c d Alastair H. Thomas (10 May 2010). The A to Z of Denmark. Scarecrow Press. p. 374. ISBN 978-1-4616-7184-8.
  10. ^ Greenland: Government and society, Britannica Online Encyclopedia.
  11. ^ "Siumut gets new chairman". 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam har meldt sig ind i et nyt parti". DR (in Danish). 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
  13. ^ Member Parties of the Socialist International
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