County of Greenland, Denmark
| County of Greenland | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County of Denmark | |||||||||
| 1953–1979 | |||||||||
 Mainland Denmark (lime green) and Greenland (dark green) in 1953 | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1953-1972 | Frederick IX | ||||||||
• 1972-1979 | Margrethe II | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1950–1960 | Poul Hugo Lundsteen | ||||||||
• 1960–1963 | Finn C. Nielsen | ||||||||
• 1963–1973 | Niels Otto Christensen | ||||||||
• 1973–1979 | Hans Lassen | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 5 June 1953 | ||||||||
• home rule | 1 May 1979 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Kingdom of Denmark | ||||||||
The County of Greenland was an amt (county) of Denmark, comprising Greenland and its associated islands, before home rule was granted to Greenland.
History[]
In 1953 Greenland's colonial status ended with the establishment of the 1953 Danish constitution.[1] When the colonial status ended, Greenland was incorporated into the Danish realm as an Amt (county) which gave Greenlanders Danish citizenship, as a result of this, a change in Danish policies toward Greenland that consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of Danish in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education; many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, many losing their cultural ties to Greenland. The policy also backfired to produce a reassertion of Greenlandic cultural identity by the Greenlandic elite, leading to a movement in favour of independence that reached its peak in the 1970s; because of this, a further desire to establish the legality of Greenland's status formed in Denmark, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979, which gave Greenland limited autonomy with its own legislature taking control of some internal policies, while the Parliament of Denmark maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979.
See also[]
- Kingdom of Denmark
- North Greenland
- South Greenland
- The unity of the Realm
- List of governors of Greenland
- Faroe Islands
References[]
| Counties (amter) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Municipalities (kommuner) with county privileges | ||
1 Abolished in 2003. 2 Abolished in 1979. | ||
- States and territories established in 1953
- States and territories disestablished in 1979
- History of Greenland
- Geographic history of Denmark
- Former counties of Denmark (1970–2006)
- 1953 establishments in North America
- 1979 disestablishments in North America
- 1950s establishments in Greenland
- 1970s disestablishments in Greenland