Símun av Skarði (3 May 1872 – 9 October 1942) was a Faroese poet, politician, and teacher.

Biography

Símun was born in the village of Skarð on Kunoy. In 1893, he entered the seminary in Tórshavn, which he graduated from as a teacher in 1896. He attended

Askov Højskole Askov Højskole is a Danish folk high school, that is located in the village of Askov in southern Jutland between Kolding and Esbjerg. It was founded in 1865 as an extension of Denmark's first folk high school, which had been established in 1844 ...

from 1896 to 1898, and then the State Teachers College in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

from 1898 to 1899. In 1899, he co-founded the Faroese folk high school (''Føroya Fólkaháskúli'') together with Rasmus Rasmussen (1871–1962). He worked there as headmaster and teacher from 1899 to 1942. Símun's sister, Anna Suffía Rasmussen (1876–1932), who had married Rasmus Rasmussen, served as the superintendent. Rasmus Rasmussen worked there as a teacher until 1947. He was the husband of the educator Sanna av Skarði (1876–1978), who also taught at Føroya Fólkaháskúli. They were the parents of the journalist

Sigrið av Skarði Joensen Sigrið av Skarði Joensen, also Sigrið av Skarði, (May 12, 1908 – July 3, 1975) was a Faroese journalist, teacher, and feminist. Life Sigrið av Skarði Joensen was born in Fagralíð, Klaksvík in 1908, the daughter of Símun av Skarði ( ...

(1908–1975) and linguist Jóhannes av Skarði (1911–1999). Danish Prime Minister

Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the lead ...

is his great-grandson-in-law. His best-known work as a poet is the Faroese

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

, '' Mítt alfagra land'', better known by its

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...

''Tú alfagra land mítt''. He was a member of parliament for the

Self-Government Party Sjálvstýri (previously Sjálvstýrisflokkurin) (English: referred to interchangeably as ''Independence'', ''Self-Government'', or ''Home Rule'') is a liberal, autonomist political party on the Faroe Islands. It is currently led by the Mayor of ...

(''Sjálvstýrisflokkurin'') from 1906 to 1914.

References

Other sources

* ''Løgtingið og høvundarnir 2'': ''Løgtingið 150'' (1st ed.) p. 350. Tórshavn Løgtingið 2002.

External links

Føroya Fólkaháskúli website
1872 births 1942 deaths 20th-century Faroese poets Faroese-language poets Self-Government (Faroe Islands) politicians Members of the Løgting National anthem writers Faroese male poets 19th-century Faroese people 20th-century Faroese people 20th-century Danish male writers {{Faroes-politician-stub