Aleqa Hammond
Politician, First Female Premier of Greenland · 1965
Who is Aleqa Hammond?
Aleqa Hammond is a Greenlandic politician born on 23 September 1965 in Narsaq, in southern Greenland. A member of the Siumut party, she was first elected to the Greenlandic Parliament (Inatsisartut) in November 2005 and went on to serve as Minister for Families and Justice from 2005 to 2007, then as Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs from 2007 until her resignation in 2008. After Siumut's 2009 electoral defeat, she became the party's leader in 2009, and in the 2013 election she received the highest personal vote count in Greenlandic history, leading Siumut back into government. On 5 April 2013 she was sworn in as Premier of Greenland, becoming the first woman to hold the office; she served until 30 September 2014, when she took a leave of absence amid an investigation into misuse of public expense funds. She was later elected to the Danish Folketing in 2015 and, after periods with other parties, returned to Siumut in 2021, being re-elected its leader in 2025. Throughout her career she has been an outspoken advocate for Greenlandic cultural awareness, language, and eventual independence from Denmark.
Sources: Wikipedia, "Aleqa Hammond" · Britannica, "Aleqa Hammond, prime minister of Greenland" · Up Here Publishing, "Secede To Succeed"