Naaja Nathanielsen (born 6 December 1975) is a Greenlandic politician of the

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 ...

party. She was a member of the

Inatsisartut The Inatsisartut ( kl, Inatsisartut; '' da, Landstinget, lit=''the land's-thing'' of Greenland''), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territory* * ...

(the Greenlandic parliament) from 2009 to 2016, and was re-elected in 2021. She has been the director of Greenland's department of prisons and probation from 2016, and became minister for natural resources in 2021. In her role as minister for natural resources, she banned uranium mining. She is a feminist, and has spoken against

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

in the country.

Early life

Naaja Nathanielsen was born on 6 December 1975.

Career

Naaja Nathanielsen served in the

from 2009 to 2016. She was a member of

, but became an independent in 2016 before her departure from the legislature; she said she left the party due to not being consulted for policy changes. She ran again for the Inatsisartut in 2021 with the Inuit Ataqatigiit party. She was re-elected. She has served as the director of the department of prisons and probation since 2016. In 2021, she became the country's minister for natural resources. In her position, she approved an expansion of mining—including to explore the extent of subterranean

radioactive element A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transfer ...

s—but refused to allow

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

mining. She has proposed a total ban on uranium exploitation; such a ban required a bill from the Inatsisartut to be passed, and the ban is now in effect. While she has sought out legal assessments for the ban on uranium mining, she has refused to share them when asked. She also revoked the license of a Chinese company to mine iron near

Nuuk Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other co ...

, saying the company failed to meet deadlines related to pay and activity. She is a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, and has argued that there are extensive divisions of power in politics as a result of

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

. She has argued that

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

in Greenland is not attributable only to

alcohol abuse Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-relat ...

since violence "is happening to women more than to men". While she believes that there are similarities among all

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

peoples, she believes that calls for Inuit

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

in Greenland—such as

Greenlandic independence Greenlandic independence ( da, Grønlandsk uafhængighed, kl, Kalaallisuut kiffaanngissusiat) is a political ambition of some political parties (such as Siumut, Inuit Ataqatigiit, Partii Naleraq, and Nunatta Qitornai), advocacy groups, and indiv ...

—are problematic, since generalizing an Inuit worldview is not possible, even within the country. She said that independence is the ultimate goal of her work, "in some form or another", while continuing to work toward a "broader or wider deal with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

" in the meantime. Ultimately, she said, "self-determination is about freedom from violence and

rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * R ...

fear of violence".

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathanielsen, Naaja 1975 births 21st-century Greenlandic politicians Greenlandic feminists Women members of the Parliament of Greenland Members of the Parliament of Greenland Inuit Ataqatigiit politicians Living people Women government ministers of Greenland 21st-century women politicians Government ministers of Greenland