Greenland Independence

Where things stand, November 2026: No independence referendum has been scheduled, and a non-political legal commission is due to report in early 2027 on how Section 21 of the Self-Government Act, a referendum, and the 2023 draft constitution would work in practice.

The 2009 Self-Government Act gives Greenland a legal route to independence under Section 21. The route requires negotiations between Naalakkersuisut and Denmark’s government, Inatsisartut consent, a Greenland referendum and Folketing consent. As of November 13, 2026, no independence referendum has been scheduled. A non-political legal commission reports in early 2027 on Section 21, a referendum and the 2023 draft constitution.

This page is a neutral guide to the legal route, the public debate, and what a change in status would mean for mineral licensing, the United States defense agreement, and the Danish block grant. It is not an argument for or against independence.

The legal route

The Act on Greenland Self-Government (Act no. 473 of June 12, 2009) entered into force on June 21, 2009, after a referendum in Greenland on November 25, 2008. Its preamble recognizes the people of Greenland as a people pursuant to international law with the right of self-determination. The Act is based on an agreement between Naalakkersuisut, the Government of Greenland, and the Danish government as equal partners.

Section 21, in Chapter 8 of the Act, sets out Greenland’s access to independence:

  • The decision regarding Greenland’s independence is to be taken by the people of Greenland.
  • If that decision is taken, negotiations begin between the Danish government and Naalakkersuisut with a view to the introduction of independence.
  • An agreement between Naalakkersuisut and the Danish government on the introduction of independence must be concluded with the consent of Inatsisartut, Greenland’s parliament, and must be endorsed by a referendum in Greenland. The agreement must also be concluded with the consent of the Folketing, the Danish parliament.
  • Independence for Greenland would mean that Greenland assumes sovereignty over the territory.

Until those steps are completed, Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark retains formal responsibility for foreign, defense and security policy, in cooperation with the Greenland authorities as set out in the Act. Other fields, including mineral resources, have already been transferred to the Self-Government.

The draft constitution and the Section 21 commission

A Constitutional Commission presented a draft constitution on April 28, 2023. That draft has not been adopted.

A separate, non-political Section 21 commission held its constitutive meeting on March 18, 2026. Naalakkersuisut approved the commission and its mandate on October 31, 2025, and set aside DKK 2 million for the work, following an earlier wish from Inatsisartut for a professional legal body rather than a political one. The members are lawyer and former professor Ole Spiermann and professor emeritus Gudmundur Alfredsson, both of whom represented Greenland in the Self-Government Commission’s working group on constitutional and international-law questions. Hans Peder Kirkegaard, a doctoral student, and Stefan Krehbiel, head of legal affairs in the Self-Government, are attached as associated members. The Constitutional Department in the Premier’s Department serves as the secretariat.

After one working year, the commission is to deliver a legal report on the process of activating Section 21. Its assigned tasks are: to explain the Section 21 process and how the provision can most appropriately be activated; to assess the legal framework for an advisory referendum on independence and state formation; to make a legal-technical assessment of the existing draft constitution, including in relation to the process of forming a state; and to take up further relevant legal questions if that proves useful during the work. A report is therefore expected in early 2027. The advisory referendum examined by the commission is a separate legal question from the referendum that Section 21 requires in order to endorse an independence agreement.

Party positions in Inatsisartut

All five parties now represented in Inatsisartut have stated a public position on independence. They differ on pace, sequencing and the value of remaining in the Kingdom of Denmark. The table below summarizes those public positions in neutral language as of November 13, 2026. It is not an endorsement of any party.

PartySeatsRolePublic stance on independence
Demokraatit11Government (leads)Supports independence by a gradual route, with economic readiness and living standards as a central test. Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen leads the current two-party coalition with Inuit Ataqatigiit.
Naleraq8OppositionThe fastest path among parties in Inatsisartut. Leader Pele Broberg has pressed for a timetable and for finishing a constitution draft, and has discussed models such as free association.
Inuit Ataqatigiit7GovernmentTreats an independent state as an important goal and has said the Section 21 commission should finish its work before new parallel tracks are opened. Coalition partner with Demokraatit.
Siumut2OppositionCalls the road to independence decisive and commits to working purposefully for a fully independent Greenland; under chair Aleqa Hammond it prioritizes adopting the April 2023 draft constitution. Left the governing coalition on March 13, 2026. Party chair: Aleqa Hammond.
Atassut2OppositionThe most cautious of the five parties. Has described remaining in the Kingdom of Denmark as the strongest protection for now. Left the coalition on November 9, 2026, over a ministerial-accountability dispute, not over independence policy. Party chair: Aqqalu C. Jerimiassen.

Seat counts are current as of November 13, 2026. At the March 11, 2025 election the 31 seats were divided as follows: Demokraatit 10, Naleraq 8, Inuit Ataqatigiit 7, Siumut 4 and Atassut 2. On March 17, 2026, Vivian Motzfeldt and Kim Kielsen left Siumut. Motzfeldt joined Demokraatit on May 8, 2026. Kielsen sits as an independent and is Speaker of Inatsisartut; he has supported the current coalition. Demokraatit and Inuit Ataqatigiit together hold 18 of 31 seats.

After Atassut left the government, two cabinet posts became vacant. Maritha Broberg of Atassut, the minister for social affairs, the labor market, families and interior affairs, left with her party. Nivi Olsen of Demokraatit, the minister for education, culture, sport and church, resigned the next day, on November 10. Jørgen Rosbach, the minister for environment, nature, energy and research, has taken over Nivi Olsen’s portfolio on a temporary basis, while Maritha Broberg’s areas have passed to finance minister Aqqaluaq B. Egede. As of November 13, permanent replacements had not been announced. New members of Naalakkersuisut require the approval of Inatsisartut. On November 10, Naleraq, Siumut and Atassut also entered a technical parliamentary cooperation.

What independence would mean for licenses, defense and the block grant

Some of the questions most often asked by investors and officials are already answered, in part, by the Self-Government Act. Independence would change Greenland’s international status. It would not, by itself, invent powers that Nuuk already exercises, and it would end some arrangements that today depend on membership of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Mining and oil licensing

Greenland assumed the mineral resource area on January 1, 2010. Under Section 7 of the Self-Government Act, revenue from mineral resource activities in Greenland accrues to the Self-Government authorities. Independence would not, by itself, transfer a licensing power that Greenland already holds.

On June 24, 2021, Naalakkersuisut decided to suspend its then-current oil strategy and stop issuing new oil and gas exploration licenses in Greenland. Existing licenses were not revoked: Naalakkersuisut has confirmed that the Jameson Land licenses in East Greenland remain valid because they predate the 2021 decision. That is a Greenland government policy, not a Danish reservation of the resource. The September 2026 defense agreement between Greenland, Denmark and the United States did not grant mining or drilling rights.

The U.S. defense agreement

On September 22, 2026, in New York, Greenland, Denmark and the United States signed an agreement amending and supplementing the 1951 agreement on the defense of Greenland. Inatsisartut approved the agreement on November 3, 2026, by 16 votes to 0, with 7 abstentions. The Folketing held its first debate on the corresponding resolution, B 36, on November 12, with a vote scheduled for November 19. The agreement takes effect once both parliaments have given their consent and the United States has been notified.

The agreement is a trilateral arrangement within the present constitutional status of Greenland as part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It reaffirms Danish sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination. Article XI addresses independence directly. It has no end date, and it commits Denmark and Greenland to ensure that an independent Greenland remains in or applies to join NATO and assumes, from the date of independence, Denmark’s rights and obligations under the agreement. An independent Greenland would therefore inherit the U.S. basing arrangements rather than negotiate them from scratch.

Read the full English text of the agreement, including Article XI (PDF, Danish Prime Minister’s Office).

The Danish block grant

The Self-Government Act provides for an annual Danish subsidy, adjusted each year for prices and wages. In the 2026 Finance Act the grant is DKK 4,524.7 million. Greenland’s draft finance bill for 2026 described that amount as about 53 percent of expected Self-Government revenue.

Under Section 8 of the Act, the grant is reduced by an amount corresponding to half of mineral-resource revenue above a threshold of DKK 75 million, stated in 2009 prices and wages and indexed thereafter. Separately, Section 10 provides that if the grant is reduced to zero, negotiations begin between Naalakkersuisut and the Danish government on future economic relations between Greenland and Denmark. Independence would end the automatic annual subsidy unless a successor arrangement is negotiated as part of an independence agreement.

Key milestones

  • 1979: Home Rule takes effect.
  • November 25, 2008: A referendum in Greenland approves the Self-Government arrangement.
  • June 21, 2009: The Act on Greenland Self-Government enters into force, including Section 21 on access to independence.
  • January 1, 2010: Greenland assumes the mineral resource area. Revenues accrue to the Self-Government, with a statutory offset against the block grant above an indexed threshold.
  • June 24, 2021: Naalakkersuisut suspends its oil strategy and stops issuing new oil and gas exploration licenses; existing licenses, including Jameson Land, remain valid.
  • April 28, 2023: The Constitutional Commission presents a draft constitution. It has not been adopted.
  • March 11, 2025: Election to Inatsisartut. Demokraatit becomes the largest party, with 10 of 31 seats at the time of the election.
  • October 31, 2025: Naalakkersuisut approves the Section 21 commission and a budget of DKK 2 million.
  • March 13, 2026: Siumut leaves the governing coalition.
  • March 17, 2026: Vivian Motzfeldt and Kim Kielsen leave Siumut. Motzfeldt later joins Demokraatit, on May 8. Kielsen remains an independent and continues as Speaker of Inatsisartut.
  • March 18, 2026: The Section 21 commission holds its constitutive meeting. A report is expected after one working year, in early 2027.
  • September 22, 2026: Greenland, Denmark and the United States sign a trilateral defense agreement in New York, amending the 1951 defense pact.
  • November 3, 2026: Inatsisartut approves the defense agreement, 16–0, with 7 abstentions.
  • November 9–10, 2026: Atassut leaves the coalition. Maritha Broberg leaves the cabinet with her party, and Nivi Olsen resigns the next day. The vacant portfolios are covered temporarily. Demokraatit and Inuit Ataqatigiit retain 18 of 31 seats.
  • November 12–19, 2026: The Folketing holds its first debate on the defense agreement (B 36) on November 12, with a vote scheduled for November 19.
  • Early 2027: Expected window for the Section 21 commission report.

Frequently asked questions

Can Greenland become independent?

Yes. The 2009 Self-Government Act recognizes the people of Greenland as a people with a right of self-determination and sets out a legal route in Section 21. Independence is not automatic. It requires negotiations between Naalakkersuisut and the Danish government, and the consents described below.

What does Section 21 actually require?

The decision is to be taken by the people of Greenland. Negotiations then begin between Naalakkersuisut and the Danish government. Any agreement needs the consent of Inatsisartut, endorsement in a referendum in Greenland, and the consent of the Folketing. Independence would mean that Greenland assumes sovereignty over the territory.

Has a referendum been scheduled?

No. As of November 13, 2026, no independence referendum has been called. An independent legal commission is examining how Section 21 would be activated, the legal framework for an advisory referendum, and the 2023 draft constitution, and is due to report in early 2027. The referendum required by Section 21 would come later, as the endorsement of a negotiated independence agreement.

What is the status of the draft constitution?

A Constitutional Commission presented a draft on April 28, 2023. It has not been adopted. The Section 21 commission has been asked for a legal-technical assessment of that draft, including in relation to the process of forming a state.

Who already controls mining and oil licensing?

Greenland already holds the mineral resource area and receives the revenue from mineral activities, subject to a statutory offset against the Danish block grant. The 2021 decision to stop issuing new oil and gas exploration licenses is a Greenland government policy; licenses granted before it, including those at Jameson Land, remain valid. The September 2026 defense agreement did not grant mining or drilling rights.

What would happen to the Danish block grant and the U.S. defense agreement?

The 2026 block grant is DKK 4,524.7 million, about 53 percent of expected Self-Government revenue. Independence would end that automatic subsidy unless a successor arrangement is negotiated in an independence agreement. The current U.S. defense agreement is a trilateral amendment to the 1951 U.S.–Denmark pact. Article XI addresses independence directly. It has no end date, and it commits Denmark and Greenland to ensure that an independent Greenland remains in or applies to join NATO and assumes, from the date of independence, Denmark’s rights and obligations under the agreement. An independent Greenland would therefore inherit the U.S. basing arrangements rather than negotiate them from scratch.

This guide is updated as events develop. Last reviewed November 13, 2026. For corrections or feedback: press@greenlandenergy.com

Sources

Latest on independence

GADC — Greenland Arctic Development Corp.
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