List Of People From Greenland

The following is a list of notable people from

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

: *

Maliina Abelsen Maliina Abelsen was the General Manager for Arctic Winter Games 2016 and is a former Greenlandic politician and MP for the party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), holding the position of the Minister for Finance in the Government of Greenland ( kl, Naala ...

, politician and MP for the party

Inuit Ataqatigiit Inuit Ataqatigiit (, , da, Folkets Samfund) is a democratic socialist, separatist political party in Greenland that aims to make Greenland an independent state. The party, founded as a political organisation in 1976, was born out of the increas ...

* Naja Abelsen (born 1964), artist, book illustrator * Richard Absalonsen, politician, member of the Atassut party * Arnarsaq, translator, interpreter and missionary * Arnarulunnguaq (1896–1933), native Greenlandic woman who accompanied

Knud Rasmussen Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic–Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies ...

on his Fifth Thule Expedition * Aron of Kangeq, hunter, painter, and oral historian *

Hermann Berthelsen Hermann Berthelsen (born 2 March 1956) is a Greenlandic politician and affiliated with the Siumut party. As of July 2010, Berthelsen is the mayor of Sisimiut, a town in central-western Greenland, and the administrative center of the Qeqqata Q ...

, politician, affiliated with the Siumut (

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

) party *

Julie Berthelsen Julie Ivalo Broberg Berthelsen also known by her mononym Julie (born 7 June 1979) is a Danish-born Greenlandic pop singer and songwriter. She is known largely for her success on the TV series ''Popstars''. Although she finished in second place, ...

, singer and songwriter * Ove Karl Berthelsen, politician, Minister for Industry and Mineral Resources *

Jørgen Brønlund Jørgen Brønlund (14 December 1877 – November 1907), was a Kalaallit, Greenlandic polar explorer, educator, and Catechism, catechist. He participated in two Danish expeditions to Greenland in the early 20th century. Early years Brønlund, ...

, explorer, educator, and catechist * Palle Christiansen, member of the Democrats, Minister for Finance, and Member of the Greenland Government for Nordic Cooperation * Nukaaka Coster-Waldau, singer, actress, and former Miss Greenland *

Agnethe Davidsen Agnethe Davidsen (29 August 1947 Nuuk – 25 November 2007, Nuuk) was a judge who was the first female government minister in Greenland and only the second female mayor of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, where she was mayor for more than 14 years ...

, the first female government minister in Greenland * Aviâja Egede Lynge (born 1974), indigenous rights activist, childhood rights commissioner *

Hans Enoksen Hans Enoksen (born 7 August 1956) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the third prime minister of Greenland from 2002 to 2009. A Greenlandic monoglot, he has been a member of the Parliament of Greenland since 1995. He became Minister for ...

, politician, fourth prime minister * Agathe Fontain, politician, Minister for Health *

Anthon Frederiksen Anthon Frederikssen is a Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Can ...

, leader of the Democrats, Minister for Housing, Infrastructure and Transport, and Deputy-Premier *

Jesper Grønkjær Jesper Grønkjær (; born 12 August 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer. A pacey winger, Grønkjær played primarily on the right or left wing, or as a second striker. He played a total 400 league games for a number of European cl ...

, professional footballer *

Ole Jørgen Hammeken Ole Jørgen Hammeken − born in 1956 in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, of Maritha and Motzflot Hammeken − is a Greenlandic explorer and actor, based in Denmark and Russia. Career Polar exploration He participated in 2007 in the 'Global W ...

, explorer and social worker * Ane Hansen, politician, Minister for Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture *

Hans Hendrik Hans Hendrik ( kl, Suersaq, i=no; 2 June 1832 – 11 August 1889) was a Kalaallit interpreter, Arctic explorer, and the first Inuk to publish an account of his travels. He was born in the southern settlement of Fiskenæsset. Expeditions ...

, Arctic traveller and interpreter *

Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam Aki-Matilda Tilia Ditte Høegh-Dam (born 17 October 1996 in Hillerød) is a Danish-Greenlandic politician, who is a member of the Folketing for the Siumut political party. She was elected into parliament at the 2019 Danish general election, enteri ...

(born 1996), politician, member of the Folketing, Siumut party * Arnannguaq Høegh (1956–2020), graphic artist and educator *

Doris J. Jensen Doris J. Jensen, also Doris Jakobsen, (born 1978) is a Greenlandic politician in the Siumut or Forward party. A former member of the Danish Folketing (2011–2015), she became an elected member of the Parliament of Greenland in 2002. In April 201 ...

(born 1978), politician, member of the Siumut party *

Lars Emil Johansen Lars-Emil Johansen (born 24 September 1946) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the second prime minister of Greenland from 1991 to 1997, and Speaker of the Inatsisartut from 2013 to 2018. Johansen was chairman of the political party ''Si ...

, former prime minister * Ricky Enø Jørgensen, racing cyclist for Glud & Marstrand Horsens *

Mimi Karlsen Mimi Karlsen (born 23 January 1957 in Maniitsoq, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark) is a Greenlandic politician. A member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit Inuit Ataqatigiit (, , da, Folkets Samfund) is a democratic socialist, separatist political party ...

, politician, Minister for Culture, Education, Research and Church Affairs * Jessie Kleemann (born 1959), poet, performance artist *

Kuupik Kleist Jakob Edvard Kuupik Kleist (born 31 March 1958) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Greenland between 2009 and 2013. A member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, he was the first Prime Minister not affiliated with S ...

, politician *

Makka Kleist Makka Kleist (born 1951) is a Greenlandic actress. After training to be a schoolteacher, she was inspired to become an actress and received training at the Tuukkaq Teater in western Jutland. As she was unable to find work in Denmark, she moved to C ...

(born 1951), actress *

Nina Kreutzmann Jørgensen Nina Kreutzmann Jørgensen (born 1977) is a Greenlandic-Danish singer who is popular in both Greenland and Denmark. From the 1990s, she was the lead singer in the rock band Qulleq. She has frequently performed on Danish television, especially in co ...

(born 1977), singer * Angunnguaq Larsen, actor (''

Borgen Borgen may refer to: Places * Borgen, Akershus, Norway * Borgen, Oslo, a neighborhood of Oslo, Norway **Borgen (station) * Borgen, Østfold, a suburb of Sarpsborg, Norway * Borgen, Ullensaker, Norway * ''Borgen'' ('the castle'), colloquial name ...

'') *

Thorkell Leifsson Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental North ...

, son of

Leif Ericson Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental Nort ...

paramount chieftain The ancient Norse rulers of Greenland were called paramount chieftains. Among the island nation's chieftains were: *Erik the Red, or Eirikr Thorvaldsson, the nation's first chieftain and its first settler, began rule in 985. *Leif Ericson, lik ...

of Greenland *

Katrine Larsen Lenner Katrina or Katrine may refer to: People * Katrina (given name) * Katrine (given name) Meteorology *List of storms named Katrina, a list of tropical cyclones designated as Katrina ** Hurricane Katrina, an exceptionally powerful Atlantic hurricane ...

, politician * Kristian Lennert, politician *

Rasmus Lerdorf Rasmus Lerdorf (born 22 November 1968) is a Danish-Canadian programmer. He co-authored and inspired the PHP scripting language, authoring the first two versions of the language and participating in the development of later versions led by a grou ...

, creator of the

PHP PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group ...

programming language * Henrik Lund, lyricist, painter and priest * Angaangaq Lyberth, shaman *

Aqqaluk Lynge Aqqaluk Lynge (born in 1947 in Aasiaat, Greenland) was the President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (formerly the Inuit Circumpolar Conference) from 1995 to 2002. He is a former member of the Inatsisartut and one of the founders of the Greenlandi ...

, former president of the

Inuit Circumpolar Council The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) ( kl, Inuit Issittormiut Siunnersuisooqatigiiffiat), formerly Inuit Circumpolar Conference, is a multinational non-governmental organization (NGO) and Indigenous Peoples' Organization (IPO) representing the 1 ...

* Nauja Lynge (born 1965), writer, lecturer *

Jonathan Motzfeldt Jonathan Jakob Jørgen Otto Motzfeldt (25 September 1938 – 28 October 2010) was a Greenlandic priest and politician. He is considered one of the leading figures in the establishment of Greenland Home Rule. Jonathan Motzfeldt was the first pr ...

, former prime minister *

Josef Motzfeldt Josef Tuusi Motzfeldt
mzv.cz, 10.09.2010 (born 24 November 1941) is a Asii Chemnitz Narup Asii Chemnitz Narup (born 1954) is a Greenlandic politician and MP for the party Inuit Ataqatigiit. Narup was the country's environmental and health minister between 2005 and 2006. She resigned in protest against what she felt was a poorly function ...

, politician and MP for the party Inuit Ataqatigiit * Alfred Olsen, politician *

Anders Olsen Anders Olsen (1718-1786) was a Norwegian trader, explorer and colonial administrator, who founded several important towns in Greenland including Qaqortoq (Julianehåb) and Maniitsoq (Sukkertoppen) as well as the village of Igaliku. Anders Olsen ...

, trader and colonial administrator * Marius Olsen, politician * Maligiaq Padilla, famous kayaker *

Lena Pedersen Lena (Elizabeth Magdalena) Pedersen or Lena Pederson (born 1940, Greenland) is a politician and social worker from Nunavut, Canada. In 1959, she moved from Greenland to the Northwest Territories and lived in Coppermine (Kugluktuk), Pangnirtung an ...

, Canadian politician and social worker * Fritz Baumann Petersen, politician *

Johan Carl Christian Petersen Johan Carl Christian Petersen (28 June 1813 – 24 June 1880) was a Danish seaman and interpreter who participated in several expeditions in Northern Canada and Greenland in search of the missing British explorer John Franklin. Early life Pet ...

, seaman and interpreter *

Gertrud Rask Gertrud Rask (167321 December 1735) was the first wife of the Danish-Norwegian missionary to Greenland Hans Egede and was the mother of the missionary and translator Paul Egede. Life in Norway Gertrud Rask (the parish register records her as Gj ...

, wife of missionary Hans Egede and mother of Paul *

, polar explorer and anthropologist * Henriette Rasmussen (1950–2017), educator, journalist, women's rights activist and politician *

Signe Rink Nathalie Sophia Nielsine Caroline Rink née Møller (24 January 1836 – 19 April 1909) was a Danish writer and ethnologist. Together with her husband Hinrich, she founded Greenland's first newspaper, '' Atuagagdliutit'', in 1861. She is credite ...

(1836–1909), writer and ethnologist *

Lars Rosing Lars Rosing (born 25 January 1972) is a Danish-Greenlandic actor. Brother of film director Otto Rosing. Born in Maniitsoq, a town in western Greenland, he grew up in Ilulissat, a larger town further north. Rosing later resided in Nuuk, the capital ...

, actor, brother of film director Otto *

Otto Rosing Otto Rosing (born 9 March 1967) is a Greenlandic/Danish film director. He grew up in Ilulissat, Greenland, and later resided in Greenland's capital Nuuk. He now lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. In collaboration with film producer Mikisoq H. ...

, film director, brother of actor Lars *

Augusta Salling Augusta Salling (born 1954) is a former finance minister of Greenland. She began as a teacher. Her political roles before finance minister included being a member of a Parliament and mayor of Qeqertarsuaq Qeqertarsuaq () is a port and town in ...

, politician, former finance minister * Morten Siegstad, politician * Agathe Martha Storch, politician, member of the Atassut ( Feeling of Community) party *

Minik Wallace Minik Wallace (also called Minik or Mene) (ca. 1890 – October 29, 1918) was an Inughuaq (Inuk) brought as a child in 1897 from Greenland to New York City with his father and others by the explorer Robert Peary. The six Inuit were studied ...

, brought as a child in 1897 to New York by Robert Peary *

Karla Jessen Williamson Karla Jessen Williamson (born 1954 in Appamiut, Maniitsoq, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark) is an assistant professor of educational foundations at the University of Saskatchewan. Formerly, she was the executive director of the Arctic Institute of ...

, Executive Director of the

Arctic Institute of North America The Arctic Institute of North America is a multi-disciplinary research institute and educational organization located in the University of Calgary. It is mandated to study the North American and circumpolar Arctic in the areas of natural science, ...

{{Greenland topics

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...