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Greenland [e] is an autonomous territory [f] in the Kingdom of Denmark. [15] [16] It is the largest of three constituent parts of the kingdom, the other two being metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands; the citizens of all territories are full citizens of Denmark. Greenland is one of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European ...
The prehistory of Greenland is a story of repeated waves of immigration from the islands north of the North American mainland. (The population of those islands are thought to have descended, in turn, from inhabitants of Siberia who migrated into North America through Beringia thousands of years ago.)
During the Second World War, Denmark was occupied and controlled by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945. [8] As a result, the US government signed an agreement with Henrik Kauffmann, the Danish ambassador to the US, to hand over defense and control of Greenland to the United States on 9 April 1941.
Why is Greenland's location so important? Because it straddles the Arctic circle between the United States, Russia and Europe, Greenland is a geopolitical prize that the U.S. and others have eyed for more than 150 years. It's even more valuable as the Arctic opens up more to shipping and trade.
Greenland has representative offices in several countries and otherwise is represented by embassies of Denmark worldwide. The Self-Government Act of 2009 allows the government of Greenland to open diplomatic offices, mainly within areas of full jurisdiction of Greenland, this being foreign trade, industry, fisheries, education, science, mining etc.
In 1951, defense concerns prompted the U.S. and Denmark to reaffirm and expand the 1941 agreement permitting the U.S. to maintain military, intelligence, and coastguard operations on Greenland.
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” Frederiksen said in an interview with Denmark’s TV 2. “On one hand, I am pleased regarding the rise in American interest in Greenland.
The 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement provides a legal and historical basis for the United States to assert greater control over Greenland, which is increasingly critical for national security ...