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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent

‘I want to make myself obsolete’: the MP fighting for Greenland’s self-governance

Qarsoq Høegh-Dam
Qarsoq Høegh-Dam is the first member of the pro-independence Naleraq to be elected to the Danish parliament. Photograph: Sebastian Elias Uth/Reuters

It’s not the standard motto for a newly elected parliamentarian, but Qarsoq Høegh-Dam is adamant: if he does his job properly, there will soon be no need for it. “I want to make myself as obsolete as possible,” he said.

Last month, Høegh-Dam, a Greenlandic politician, became the first member of the pro-independence Naleraq to be elected to the Danish parliament. The new MP is clear that if all goes to plan, the largely autonomous Arctic territory will be the sole responsibility of the parliament in Nuuk, the island’s capital. And there will no longer be any need for two seats representing Greenland in Copenhagen, its former colonial ruler.

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