Vivian Motzfeldt is a Greenlandic politician who served as the Speaker of the Inatsisartut, the

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* ...

, and the deputy chairwoman of

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 ...

. In the Kielsen V Cabinet, Motzfeldt served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Church and Foreign Affairs.

Early life and education

Vivian Motzfedlt was born on 10 June 1972. At seven years old, she moved to a school home in

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq, formerly Julianehåb, is a city in the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town and the municipal capital in ...

. Each Christmas she and her siblings went back to their hometown of Upernaviarsuk, an experimental site for agriculture in southern

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 ...

. She spent Christmas at her childhood home until she was 17, when she went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on an exchange study stay. She returned to Greenland to study to be a teacher in

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 ...

. From 1998 to 2000, Motzfedlt attended the

University of Greenland The University of Greenland ( kl, Ilisimatusarfik Kalaallit Nunaat; da, Grønlands Universitet) is Greenland's only university. It is in the capital city of Nuuk. Most courses are taught in Danish, a few in Greenlandic and classes by exchange le ...

where she studied cultural and social history of Greenland. She then had a teaching career first in Nuuk until 2007, and then Qaqortoq from 2010 to 2014.

References

1972 births Living people Greenlandic politicians Culture ministers of Greenland Education ministers of Greenland Religious affairs ministers of Greenland Sports ministers of Greenland {{Greenland-politician-stub