The West Nordic Council ( da, Vestnordisk Råd, kl, Nunat Avannarliit Killiit Siunnersuisoqatigiiffiat, fo, Útnorðurráðið, is, Vestnorræna ráðið) is a cooperation forum of the parliaments and governments of

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 i ...

, the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. It was initially founded in 1985 as the West Nordic Parliamentarian Council of Cooperation but the name was changed in 1997. The council comprises six MPs from each nation appointed by their respective parliaments. The annual general meeting of the council rotates between the members and is its highest authority. The work and activities of the Council are organized by a three-member

presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. Communist states In Communist states the presid ...

of which the president of the council is a member. The August 2017 to September 2018 president was Kári P. Højgaard. The nations of the Council share a somewhat common recent history: Greenland and the Faroes are autonomous territories of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and Iceland is a former Danish possession. They also share a similar economic base, all being dependent on fisheries. The Council's main objectives are: * To promote West Nordic (North Atlantic) interests. * To be guardians of north Atlantic resources and North Atlantic culture and to help to promote West Nordic interests through the West Nordic governments – not least with regards to the serious issues of resource management, pollution, etc. * To follow up on the governments' West Nordic cooperation. * To work with the Nordic Council and to be the West Nordic link in Nordic cooperation. * To act as the parliamentary link for inter-West Nordic organisations, including Arctic parliamentary cooperation.Vestnordisk Råd
/ref> The West Nordic Council is separate from the Nordic Council, although all of the members of the West Nordic Council are also members of the Nordic Council and there is some cooperation between the two.

General meetings

''This list is not complete'' * 31st general meeting: Runavík, Faroe Islands, August 2015; president

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 ...

* 30th general meeting: Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, September 2014; president

Bill Justinussen Bill Justinussen (born 1963) is a Faroese politician who served as Minister of Health from 2002 to 2004. He also was the President of the West Nordic Council from 2014 to 2015, and the chairman of the Centre Party from 1997 to 1999. He has also ...

* 29th general meeting: Greenland; 2013; president Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir * 28th general meeting: Faroe Islands; 2012; president Josef Motzfeldt * 27th general meeting:

Bifröst University Bifröst University () is located in the valley of List of valleys of Iceland, Norðurárdalur, approximately 30 kilometers north of Borgarnes, Iceland. Originally a business school, it also offers degrees in law and social sciences, at both bach ...

, August 2011; president: Kári P. Højgaard * 26th general meeting:

Tasiilaq Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,985 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Green ...

, August 2010; president:

Ólína Þorvarðardóttir Ólína Kjerúlf Þorvarðardóttir (born 8 September 1958) was a member of the Althing, representing the Social Democratic Alliance for the Northwest Constituency from 2009 to 2016. Life and career Ólína has been an active scholar in social Sc ...

2010–2011 * 25th general meeting:

Runavík Runavík is a comparatively urbanised village in Runavík Municipality, Faroe Islands. It lies on the south half of the isle of Eysturoy. Port Founded in 1916, Runavík has an important port, originally used predominantly by fishing boats but n ...

and

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

, August 2009; president: Josef Motzfeldt 2009–2010 * 24th general meeting:

Grundarfjörður Grundarfjörður () is a town in the north of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in the west of Iceland. It is situated between a mountain range and the sea. The nearby mountain Kirkjufell forms a small peninsula. Overview The town received the right ...

, August 2008; president: Kári P. Højgaard 2008–2009 * 23rd general meeting:

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 coun ...

, August 2007; president: Karl V. Matthíasson 2007–2008 * 22nd general meeting:

, August 2006; president:

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 ...

2006–2007 * 21st general meeting:

Ísafjörður Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland. The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord ...

, 2005; president: Henrik Old 2005–2006 * 20th general meeting:

Narsarsuaq Narsarsuaq (lit. ''Great Plan'';''Facts and History of Narsarsuaq'', Narsarsuad Tourist Information old spelling: ''Narssarssuaq'') is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. It had 123 inhabitants in 2020. There is a thri ...

, 2004; president:

Birgir Ármannsson Birgir Ármannsson (born 12 June 1968 in Reykjavík) is a member of parliament of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament. He is a member of the Independence Party. He was educated at the University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, ...

2004–2005 * 19th general meeting:

Eiði Eiði (''Northern Faroese'' �ɔiːjɪ) is a village located on the north-west tip of Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands. It is the seat of Eiði Municipality. It is located 4 km north of Ljósá and 6.5 km west of Funningur. History Eiði was firs ...

, 2003; president:

2003–2004 * 18th general meeting: Stykkishólmur, 2002; president: Jógvan á Lakjuni 2002–2003 * 17th general meeting:

, 2001; president: Hjálmar Árnason 2001–2002 * 16th general meeting:

, 2000; president: Ole Lynge 2000–2001 * 15th general meeting: Brjánsstaðir, Skeiðahreppur, 1999; president: Jógvan Durhuus 1999–2000 * 14th general meeting: Ilulissat, 1998; president: Ísólfur Gylfi Pálmason 1998–1999 * 13th general meeting:

Øravík Øravík (also spelled Ørðavík, da, Ørdevig) is a village on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The village is located in the center of the island on a crossroad where the road to Fámjin goes towards west over ...

, 1997; president:

1997–1998 * 12th general meeting:

Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyj ...

, 1996; president: Lisbeth L. Petersen 1996–1997 * 11th general meeting:

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 ...

, August 1995; president: Árni Johnsen 1995–1996 * 1st general meeting:

, 1985; president: Jens Lyberth 1985–1986

Presidents

* Bryndís Haraldsdóttir 2016–present *

2015–2016 *

2014–2015 * Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir 2013–2014 * Josef Motzfeldt 2012–2013 * Kári P. Højgaard 2011–2012 *

2010–2011 * Josef Motzfeldt 2009–2010 * Henrik Old 2005–2006 *

2004–2005 *

2003–2004 * Jógvan á Lakjuni 2002–2003 * Hjálmar Árnason 2001–2002 * Ole Lynge 2000–2001 * Jógvan Durhuus 1999–2000 * Ísólfur Gylfi Pálmason 1998–1999 *

1994–1995 * Lisbeth L. Petersen 1993–1994 *

Steingrímur J. Sigfússon Steingrímur Jóhann Sigfússon (born 4 August 1955) is an Icelandic politician. He has been a member of the Althing (Icelandic parliament) since 1983 and was the founding chairman of the Left-Green Movement (''Vinstri hreyfingin – grænt fram ...

1992–1993 *

1991–1992 * Karin Kjølbro 1990–1991 * Friðjón Þórðarson 1989–1990 * Preben Lange 1988–1989 * Hans Jacob Debes 1987–1988 * Páll Pétursson 1986–1987

References

External links

* {{authority control 1985 establishments in Greenland International organizations based in the Americas Nordic government Nordic organizations Organizations established in 1985 Politics of the Faroe Islands Politics of Greenland Politics of Iceland Political organisations based in Greenland Political organizations based in Iceland

General meetings

Presidents

See also

References

External links