Jonathan Motzfeldt facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jonathan Motzfeldt
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Motzfeldt in 2003
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| 1st Prime Minister of Greenland | |
| In office 19 September 1997 – 14 December 2002 |
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| Monarch | Margrethe II |
| Preceded by | Lars Emil Johansen |
| Succeeded by | Hans Enoksen |
| In office 1 May 1979 – 18 March 1991 |
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| Monarch | Margrethe II |
| Preceded by | Hans Lassen as Governor |
| Succeeded by | Lars Emil Johansen |
| Member of the Landsting for Nanortalik | |
| In office 1 May 1979 – 2 June 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Anders Olsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 September 1938 Qagssimiut, South Greenland |
| Died | 28 October 2010 (aged 72) Qaqortoq, Kujalleq, Greenland |
| Citizenship | Kingdom of Denmark |
| Nationality | Greenlandic |
| Political party | Siumut |
| Spouse |
Kristjana Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir
(m. 1992) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen |
| Occupation | Priest, politician |
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 prime minister of Greenland. He was Greenland's prime minister from 1979 until 1991 and again from 1997 until 2002. He was Greenland's longest serving prime minister and won the most elections of any prime minister of Greenland. He is considered a centre-left politician and Greenland became a recognized country during his tenure.
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Personal life
Jonathan "Junnuk" Motzfeldt was born in 1938 in the settlement of Qassimiut in southern Greenland as son to the hunter Søren Motzfeldt (1902-1984) and his wife Kirsten Klemmensen (1904-1979).
After his teacher's exam at Ilinniarfissuaq (Greenland College) in Nuuk in 1960, he studied theology at the University of Copenhagen until 1966, subsequently working as a pastor in Qaqortoq, Greenland until 1979.
In 1992, Jonathan Motzfeldt married Kristjana Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir (born 1951) from Iceland. They had no children. However, from a previous partnership with Margit Kock Petersen, he had two children: Karen Motzfeldt (born 1966) and Claus Motzfeldt (born 1969). Greenlandic handball player Hans Peter Motzfeldt-Kyed is Motzfeldt's nephew.
Political career
Already in the mid-1950s, Jonathan Motzfeldt started his battle for Greenland's autonomy with a group of young Inuit activists. In the early 1970s Motzfeldt became involved in the social democratic independence movement Siumut. After having placed himself at the forefront of the political emancipation process that Greenland's population began in earnest in the early 1970s, Motzfeldt became synonymous with the Greenland Home Rule. He secured almost absolute power through a series of political purges, where old comrades like Lars Emil Johansen, Moses Olsen, Lars Chemnitz and Emil Abelsen were sidelined.
In 1977 he was elected Chairman of Siumut party for the first time. In addition, he served as Speaker of the Greenland Landsting from 1979 to 1988, in 1997 and from 2002 to 2008.
On 1 May 1979, Jonathan Motzfeldt became the first Prime Minister of Greenland. He led the government for almost twelve years until 18 March 1991, when he was forced to resign and leave politics because of health issues. However, he was awarded a number of key positions in the publicly owned portion of Greenland's economy. The post of Prime Minister thereafter went to Lars Emil Johansen. Motzfeldt took the post of Prime Minister again in 1997. He held this post until 2002, when he was forced to call new elections because of serious criticism from the parliament (the Landsting) of management of the Home Rule's economy. Unilingual party fellow Hans Enoksen was elected Prime Minister of Greenland on December 14, 2002. Josef "Tuusi" Motzfeldt, the leader of IA, became deputy prime minister in the new government.
Jonathan Motzfeldt was then again elected chairman of the Greenlandic parliament. His last political year were marked by uncontrolled expenses on travel and representation.
Death
Motzfeldt died on 28 October 2010, aged 72, from a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of his death Motzfeldt was the president of the West Nordic Council.
See also
In Spanish: Jonathan Motzfeldt para niños
