Jonathan Motzfeldt

Jonathan Motzfeldt ( born September 25, 1938 in Qassimiut, † 28 October, 2010 Nuuk ) was a Greenlandic politician ( Siumut ).

After the introduction of autonomy from 1979 to 1991 he was the first prime minister of the country. 1997 to 2002 he was again head of government. 30 years ( 1979-2009 ) he was a member of the Greenland Parliament, from 2003 to 2008 as its Chairman. Motzfeldt is one of the most influential figures of the modern history of Greenland.

Life

Jonathan Motzfeldt was the son of the hunter Søren Motzfeldt († 1984) and his wife Kirsten, born Klemmensen († 1979). His namesake and ancestor came from the Lüneburg Heath. On August 9, 1992, he married the Icelander Kristjana Gudrun Gudmonsdóttir. The handball player Hans Peter Motzfeldt - Kyed is Motzfeldts nephew.

After the teacher's exam in 1960 in Nuuk he studied until 1966 Theology at the University of Copenhagen and was thereafter to 1979 worked as a pastor in Greenland.

2006 ill Motzfeldt heavy and was flown to the hospital in July to Reykjavík. On 26 July it was reported that he can breathe without device again, but continues to be in dialysis. He died of cancer.

Policy

In the early 1970s Motzfeldt became involved in the independence movement leftist Siumut. With the establishment of an ordinary party organization in 1977, he was its chairman until 1987 and remained in office. As early as 1971, he had been Vice Chairman of Grønlands Landsråd ( until conversion into the autonomous government 1979). From 1979 to 1991, again from 1997 to 2002 he was Prime Minister of Greenland. His political comeback led him back to the party leadership (1998-2002).

In addition to many honorary positions he was also winner of the Dannebrog 1st Class and the Great Cross of Merit with Star.

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