Marie Margrethe Ruth Ane Thomsen Heilmann (born 6 April 1945) is a Greenlandic teacher and politician who represents the
Siumut
Siumut (, ) is a political party in Greenland in the social democratic tradition. 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 Ministe ...
party. In January 2008, she became the first female
speaker of the Inatsisartut or
Parliament of Greenland
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 Parliament honoured her in April 2016 with the
Nersornaat
Greenland Medal for Meritorious Service ( kl, Nersornaat, lit=Deserved; da, Grønlands Hjemmestyres Fortjenstmedalje), is awarded by the Greenland Home Rule government. It is the highest award based in Greenland. The medal was instituted on 1 May ...
(gold), a medal for meritorious service, for a political career lasting over 20 years.
Biography
Born in 1945 in
Arsuk
Arsuk is a village in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It had 73 inhabitants in 2020. The name of the settlement means ''the beloved place'' in the Greenlandic language. , she was educated as a teacher and later moved into politics. In 1989, she became a member of the town council in
Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq (), formerly Sukkertoppen, is a town in Maniitsoq Island, western Greenland located in the Qeqqata municipality. With 2,534 inhabitants , it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland.
History
Archaeological finds indicate that the area ...
where she was elected mayor from 1997 to 2001.
As a member of the Siumut party, she was elected to the parliament in 1995 and represented Greenland on the
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...
.
[ In December 2002, was Minister of Education, Church, Culture and Research, and shortly thereafter, in January 2003, Minister for Family and Health.][ She replaced ]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 ...
who had been involved in a sex scandal.[
Heilmann has also been active in the church community, acting as the political head of Greenland's church from 2002 in her first ministerial appointment. On her appointment, she announced that more attention would be given to religion in education. She has been a keen church-goer and is an enthusiastic hymn singer.][
Ruth Heilmann, who lost her husband some time ago, has five children. She has also been a handball coach and is co-founder of Greenland's Handball Association.][
]
Awards
In May 2016, Heilmann was honoured with the gold Nersornaat medal for over 20 years of service in Greenlandic politics. It was presented by 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 ...
, the former Prime Minister of Greenland.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heilmann, Ruth
1945 births
Living people
Siumut politicians
Greenlandic women in politics
People from Sermersooq
Chairmen of the Parliament of Greenland
Recipients of Nersornaat