First Prime Minister of Greenland Jonathan Motzfeldt dies at age 72

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Jonathan Motzfeldt, the first and third Prime Minister of Greenland, has died at the age of 72. He had been admitted to the Queen Ingrid Hospital in Nuuk after being diagnosed with pneumonia. He died on Thursday of a brain hemorrhage. He started his first role as Prime Minister in 1979.

Motzfeldt first trained as a teacher but later started his career in politics. At the introduction of the home land rule, he became the first Prime Minister of Greenland in 1979. He lost the post in 1991. He later became Prime Minister again in 1997 and held the post until 2002. He was also the leader of the Siumut Party on two different occasions.

Tributes have been paid to the two-time leader. "We knew Junnuk as a spirited personality, intelligent and human. Junnuk was for many years the Greenlandic people's supporter and torch-bearer, our national rallying point. In our country's recent history, there was not a prouder person than Junnuk," said the current Premier of Greenland, Kuupik Kleist.

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Sources

"Greenland mourns politician Jonathan Motzfeldt" — Nunatsiaq Times, October 29, 2010
"Greenland's first premier and self-rule pioneer Jonathan Motzfeldt dies at 72" — The Canadian Press, October 29, 2010

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