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The prime minister of Greenland (Greenlandic: Naalakkersuisut siulittaasuat, lit.'Leader of the government'; Danish: Landsstyreformand), also known as the premier of Greenland,[2] is the head of government of Greenland, a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. The prime minister is usually the person who is leader of the majority party in the Parliament of Greenland (Inatsisartut). Jonathan Motzfeldt became the first prime minister after home rule was granted to Greenland in 1979. The incumbent prime minister is Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Greenland's prime minister leads the domestic Greenlandic government (Naalakkersuisut) in areas transferred to self-rule, while the prime minister of Denmark leads the national government handling reserved matters (foreign policy, defense, monetary issues, citizenship, etc.). Under the 2009 Self-Government Act, Greenland controls its internal legislative and executive powers, whereas the Danish prime minister (as head of the realm's government) handles foreign affairs, defense, and other Kingdom-wide issues, with formal limits and required consultations.[3][4]
Within Greenland's self-government framework, the Greenlandic prime minister implements laws in transferred policy areas. By law, Greenlandic authorities "include legislative, executive and judicial powers in those areas that are within Greenlandic competence",[4] so the Greenlandic prime minister leads the autonomous Greenland government accountable to Greenland's parliament (Inatsisartut). In contrast, the Danish prime minister has no direct executive or legislative authority in Greenland's self-governing areas.[5] The Self-Government Act explicitly treats "foreign, defence and security policy" as the prerogative of the Danish Government (after consulting Greenland if Greenlandic interests are involved).[3] Thus, the Danish prime minister (via the Government) manages Denmark's foreign and security policy (limited by required Folketing consent for wars or territorial changes), whereas the Greenlandic prime minister has no role in these areas.[6]
Specific powers the Danish prime minister/Government has regarding Greenland include: negotiating international treaties and agreements for the Kingdom (with mandatory information or consultation for those important to Greenland); deciding Greenland's defense and security policy (subject to constitutional constraints and Folketing approval);[6] presenting bills to the Folketing that would apply to Greenland (after submitting them to the Greenland government for comment as required by the Self-Government Act); issuing administrative orders affecting Greenland (also subject to prior Greenlandic consultation); and overseeing common matters like the annual subsidy to Greenland's self-government. In the case of Greenlandic moves toward independence, the Danish prime minister must negotiate terms with Greenland's government, and any final agreement would need Inatsisartut's approval, a Greenland referendum, and Folketing consent.[7]
