West Nordic Council

Logo

Map of member states

Headquarters| Reykjavík, Iceland
Establishment

• Established

| September 24, 1985; 39 years ago (1985-09-24) in Nuuk, Greenland

Website
www.vestnordisk.is/english/

The West Nordic Council (Danish: Vestnordisk Råd, Greenlandic: Nunat Avannarliit Killiit Siunnersuisoqatigiiffiat, Faroese: Útnorðurráðið, Icelandic: Vestnorræna ráðið) is a cooperative forum for the parliaments and governments of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. It was initially founded in 1985 as the West Nordic Parliamentarian Council of Cooperation but the name was changed in 1997. The council is composed of six MPs from each nation appointed by their respective parliaments. The annual general meeting of the council rotates between the members and is its highest authority. A presidium of three members, including the council's president, oversees the organization of its work and activities.

The nations of the Council share a somewhat common recent history: Greenland and the Faroes are autonomous territories of Denmark and Iceland is a former Danish possession. They also share a similar economic base, all being dependent on fisheries. The council's main objectives are:

* To promote West Nordic (North Atlantic) interests.
* To be guardians of north Atlantic resources and North Atlantic culture and to help to promote West Nordic interests through the West Nordic governments – not least with regards to the serious issues of resource management, pollution, etc.
* To follow up on the governments' West Nordic cooperation.
* To work with the Nordic Council and to be the West Nordic link in Nordic cooperation.
* To act as the parliamentary link for inter-West Nordic organisations, including Arctic parliamentary cooperation.[1]

The West Nordic Council is separate from the Nordic Council, although all of the members of the West Nordic Council are also members of the Nordic Council and there is some cooperation between the two.

## General meetings and leadership

[edit]

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2024)

|

No. | Location | Year | Elected president

|
|
|

1st | Nuuk | 1985 | Jens K. Lyberth
2nd |  | 1986 | Páll Pétursson
3rd |  | 1987 | Hans Jacob Debes
4th |  | 1988 | Preben Lange
5th |  | 1989 | Friðjón Þórðarson
6th |  | 1990 | Karin Kjølbro
7th |  | 1991 | Jonathan Motzfeldt
8th |  | 1992 | Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
9th |  | 1993 | Lisbeth L. Petersen
10th |  | 1994 | Jonathan Motzfeldt
11th | Qaqortoq | 1995 | Árni Johnsen
12th | Vestmannaeyjar | 1996 | Lisbeth L. Petersen
13th | Øravík | 1997 | Jonathan Motzfeldt
14th | Ilulissat | 1998 | Ísólfur Gylfi Pálmason
15th | Skeiðahreppur | 1999 | Jógvan Durhuus
16th | Tórshavn | 2000 | Ole Lynge
17th | Nuuk | 2001 | Hjálmar Árnason
18th | Stykkishólmur | 2002 | Jógvan á Lakjuni
19th | Eiði | 2003 | Jonathan Motzfeldt
20th | Narsarsuaq | 2004 | Birgir Ármannsson
21st | Ísafjörður | 2005 | Henrik Old
22nd | Tórshavn | 2006 | Jonathan Motzfeldt
23rd | Nuuk | 2007 | Karl V. Matthíasson
24th | Grundarfjörður | 2008 | Kári P. Højgaard
25th | Runavík and Tórshavn | 2009 | Josef Motzfeldt
26th | Tasiilaq | 2010 | Ólína Þorvarðardóttir
27th | Bifröst University | 2011 | Kári P. Højgaard
28th |  | 2012 | Josef Motzfeldt
29th |  | 2013 | Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir
30th | Vestmannaeyjar | 2014 | Bill Justinussen
31st | Runavík | 2015 | Lars Emil Johansen
32nd |  | 2016 | Bryndís Haraldsdóttir
33rd |  | 2017 |
34th |  | 2018 |
35th |  | 2019 |
36th |  | 2020 |
37th |  | 2021 | Kim Kielsen
38th | Nuuk | 2022 | Steinunn Þóra Árnadóttir
39th | Reykjavík | 2023 | Jenis av Rana
40th |  | 2024 |

## See also

[edit]

* Hoyvík Agreement \- an Iceland-Faroes free trade agreement that might be expanded to Greenland creating a West Nordic free trade zone.
* Arctic cooperation and politics

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Vestnordisk Råd

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Regional organizations

Bodies|

* African Union
* Alliance of Sahel States
* Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization
* Arab League
* Arctic Council
* Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
* Asia Cooperation Dialogue
* Asia Council
* Asia-Europe Foundation
* Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
* Assembly of European Regions
* Association of Caribbean States
* AUKUS
* Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
* Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty
* Benelux
* British–Irish Council
* Bucharest Nine
* Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
* Central American Integration System
* Central European Free Trade Agreement
* Central European Initiative
* Collective Security Treaty Organization
* Commonwealth of Independent States
* Commonwealth of Nations
* Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations
* Community of Democratic Choice
* Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
* Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
* Conference of European Regions with Legislative Power
* Council of the Baltic Sea States
* Council of Europe
* Craiova Group
* East African Community
* Eastern Partnership
* Economic Community of West African States
* Economic Cooperation Organization
* Eurasian Economic Union
* European Political Community
* European Union
* Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America
* GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development
* Gulf Cooperation Council
* Indian Ocean Rim Association
* International Conference on the Great Lakes Region
* Liptako–Gourma Authority
* Latin American Economic System
* Latin American Integration Association
* Latin American Parliament
* Lublin Triangle
* Melanesian Spearhead Group
* Mercosur
* New Hanseatic League
* Nordic-Baltic Eight
* Nordic Council
* North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
* Open Balkan
* Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
* Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
* Organization of American States
* Organization of Ibero-American States
* Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
* Pacific Alliance
* Pacific Islands Forum
* Paneuropean Union
* Polynesian Leaders Group
* Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
* Regional Cooperation Council
* Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
* South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
* South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone
* South-East European Cooperation Process
* Southern African Development Community
* TAKM
* Three Seas Initiative
* Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat
* Organization of Turkic States
* Union of South American Nations
* Visegrád Group
* West African Economic and Monetary Union
* West Nordic Council
* Western Balkans Quad

Topics|

* Regional integration
* Regional organizations by population
* Regionalism (international relations)

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