Inatsisartut (Parliament of Greenland)

The Inatsisartut — the Parliament of Greenland — meets in a building near the Katuaq centre, a contemporary structure that replaced an older parliament building. The parliament has 31 members elected by proportional representation and currently controls most domestic affairs including education, health, and taxation. Foreign policy and defence remain Danish responsibilities.

The parliament building is visible from the outside; guided tours for visitors are occasionally available and should be enquired about at the Visit Greenland office. The building itself is not architecturally distinctive, but understanding the Inatsisartut's existence and its constitutional position is essential to understanding Nuuk's political character.

things to do sight
A story
Greenland gained home rule in 1979 and extended self-governance in 2009, when the Inatsisartut assumed control of most domestic policy areas. The Greenlandic parliament operates in Kalaallisut as its primary language — a deliberate assertion of indigenous governance. Full independence remains an aspiration of Greenlandic politics, though the economic dependency on the annual Danish block grant (about DKK 3.2 billion) makes the timeline uncertain. The debate about when independence becomes economically viable is the defining political question of modern Greenland.