Aleqa Hammond (born 23 September 1965) is a

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 ...

ic politician and former member of the Danish

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), 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 an ...

(parliament). Formerly the leader of the Siumut party, she became Greenland's first female

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

after her party emerged as the largest parliamentary faction in the

2013 elections The following elections were occurred in the year 2013. Asia * 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013 * 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013 * 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...

. In 2014 she stepped down as Prime Minister and leader of Siumut, following a case of misuse of public funds. She was expelled from Siumut on 23 August 2016 after yet another case of misuse of public funds and became an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

. On 31 March 2018 she announced that she would be running in the 2018 Greenlandic parliamentary election for the Siumut breakaway

Nunatta Qitornai Nunatta Qitornai ( da, Vort lands efterkommere, en, Descendants of Our Land) is a separatist political party in Greenland advocating independence. It was founded in September 2017 by former Minister of Business, Labour, Trade and Foreign Affair ...

Early life

Born in Narsaq, Hammond grew up in

Uummannaq Uummannaq is a town in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020, it is the eighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Founded in 1763 as Omenak, ...

. Siumut Her father Piitaaraq Johansen died on a hunting trip when she was seven after falling through the ice. She attended Nunavut Arctic College in

Iqaluit Iqaluit ( ; , ; ) is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. In 1987, its t ...

between 1989 and 1991, before studying at 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 lec ...

from 1991 until 1993. Her studies were never completed. In 1993, she began working for Greenland Tourism as a Regional Co-ordinator in Disko Bay. In 1994, she used a hotel room and knowingly supplied a credit card which had been blocked (from prior abuse) to cover the kr 5,000 bill, and she was convicted of fraud in 1996. In 1995, she became the Information Officer in the Cabinet secretariat, before working for

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 ...

Tourism from 1996 until 1999. Between 1999 and 2003, she was commissioner of the

Inuit Circumpolar Council The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) ( kl, Inuit Issittormiut Siunnersuisooqatigiiffiat), formerly Inuit Circumpolar Conference, is a multinational non-governmental organization (NGO) and Indigenous Peoples' Organization (IPO) representing the ...

, and also worked on the 2002 Arctic Winter Games. From 2004 to 2005 she worked in the tourism industry in

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq, formerly Julianehåb, is a city in the Kujalleq 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 southern Greenland and the ...

as a tourist guide.

Political career

She was first elected to 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* * ...

in November 2005, and was appointed Minister for Families and Justice. New Apostolic Church, 22 December 2005 In 2007, she became Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, but resigned in 2008 officially in protest of the size of the government's budget deficit. The Guardian, 11 December 2008 After Siumut lost the 2009 elections, she replaced Hans Enoksen as party leader. In the

, she received the highest-ever number of personal votes. As Prime Minister she expressed her hope to experience Greenland becoming an independent country. She said: "We are talking about building a nation on a mental level. We will stand up as a people and demand what is rightfully ours. We will take responsibility for ourselves and for our families. And as politicians we will take responsibility for our country". On 1 October 2014, Hammond took a leave of absence because she was being investigated for an expense scandal, and Kim Kielsen became acting prime minister, and also succeeded her as leader of the Siumut party. Kielsen later permanently replaced her. In 2015, Hammond was elected to the Danish

in the general elections. With 3,745 votes, she gained the highest number of personal votes in Greenland. Qinersineq She was expelled from Siumut on 23 August 2016 following a case of abuse of her Folketing credit card for private expenses and became an independent. In 2017, she became chairman of the Greenland Committee following an agreement to support the centre-right government. On 31 March 2018, she announced her candidacy for the Greenlandic parliament for Siumut breakaway Nunatta Qitornai.

Personal life

She is a member of the

New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany. The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came ab ...

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Aleqa 1965 births Female heads of government Members of the New Apostolic Church Greenlandic Christians Greenlandic Inuit people Living people Women members of the Parliament of Greenland Members of the Parliament of Greenland Nunavut Arctic College alumni People from Kujalleq People from Qaasuitsup University of Greenland alumni Siumut politicians 21st-century Danish women politicians Prime Ministers of Greenland Family ministers of Greenland Finance ministers of Greenland Foreign ministers of Greenland Justice ministers of Greenland Women government ministers of Greenland Greenlandic members of the Folketing Members of the Folketing 2015–2019 Women members of the Folketing