Aki-Matilda Tilia Ditte Høegh-Dam (born 17 October 1996) is a Greenlandicpro-independence politician who currently serves in the
Folketing
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
and concurrently in the
Inatsisartut
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
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* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parli ...
. She was elected to the Folketing during the 2019 Danish general election at the age of 22, becoming its youngest member. Previously a member of
Siumut
Siumut (SIU, ; ; ) 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 ...
Hillerød
Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Sisimiut on Greenland's west coast. When she was 15, as a volunteer in Nakuusa (UNICEF's project in support of Greenlandic children), she went on a trip around Greenland's coast during which she discussed politics with a friend. As a result, she decided to join
Siumut
Siumut (SIU, ; ; ) 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 ...
, a
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
political party. After joining the party's youth organization, her interest in politics continued to grow.
After graduating from high school, in 2014 she began studying political science at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
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and graduated in 2019. In 2015, she participated in the
Miss Denmark
Miss Denmark () is a national Beauty pageant in Denmark. The pageant was founded in 1926, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe and other titleholders to Miss World, Miss International, Miss Supranational and Miss Grand International.
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competition. Although she finished in sixth place, the event did much to draw attention to her in Greenland.
Political career
In the Danish general election on 5 June 2019, Høegh-Dam was one of two Greenlanders who succeeded in becoming members of the Folketing. Expressing strong support for
Mette Frederiksen
Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been the Prime Minister of Denmark, prime minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Social Democrats (Denmark)#Leaders of the Social Democrats, leader of the Social Democr ...
, head of the Social Democrats, she campaigned on the basis that Denmark should take more care of its responsibilities for Greenlanders. She also supports independence for Greenland.
During a parliamentary debate on 3 October 2024, Høegh-Dam was asked to leave the podium by Folketing speaker Søren Gade after she broke Folketing protocol by delivering an eight-minute speech in Greenlandic, rather than Danish, explaining Siumut's political position on human rights abuses including the spiral scandal: although she had distributed written translations to other legislators beforehand, convention dictates that speeches must either be given in Danish or translated into Danish immediately afterwards.
On 7 February 2025, Høegh-Dam announced that she was leaving Siumut, because of her view that the leadership of Siumut and chairperson Erik Jensen, did not insist enough on the issue of Greenlandic independence. She subsequently joined Naleraq on 10 February 2025 and announced she would be running for the party at the upcoming Greenlandic election. She went on to receive the third-largest number of votes for a single candidate in the cycle, and won a seat in the
Inatsisartut
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
*
*
* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parli ...