Henriette Rasmussen

Henriette Ellen Kathrine Vilhelmine Rasmussen née Jeremiassen (8 June 1950 – 2017) was a Greenlandic educator, journalist, women's rights activist and politician. In 1992, she provided support for the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in 1996, was appointed principal advisor to the ILO in connection with the 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. As a member of Inuit Ataqatigiit from the early 1980s, she strove for Greenlandic independence from Denmark and served as Greenland's Minister of Culture and Education (2003–2005).

Early life Born in Qasigiannguit in western Greenland on 8 June 1950, Henriette Ellen Kathrine Vilhelmine Jeremiassen was the daughter of Jens Emil Axel Jeremiassen (1919–93), a skipper, and Birthe Marie Margrethe Møller (born 1924), a factory worker. The eldest daughter in a family of eight children, she was brought up to recognize the equality of the sexes and to appreciate the importance of education. As a teenager, she spent a year in Denmark before completing her high-school education in Nuuk, matriculating in 1970. In 1975, she qualified as a teacher from N. Zahle's School in Copenhagen. During her studies, she became interested in the new women's movement, making it known in the sidelines of the Arctic Peoples Conference in 1973 that she regretted the poor representation of women.

In 2002, Rasmussen returned to Greenlandic politics, becoming Minister of Culture and Education from 2003 to 2005. She then returned to journalism, becoming a familiar voice on KNR until poor health forced her to retire.

After a lengthy illness, Henriette Rasmussen died in Nuuk on 3 March 2017. She is survived by her husband, two children and two grandchildren.

Selected publications

Among Rasmussen's publications are the following: Kalaallit arfanniartarnerat pillugu, tuluttut, Booklet 6 articles about whaling in Greenland, 1986 (in Greenlandic and English) UNESCO : First World Culture Report 1998, with Inger Sjørslev, Københavns Universitet, Article about Greenlandic writing system and media history (in English) Manual to the ILO Convention No. 169, 2000, English editor Traditional Occupations of Indigenous Peoples, Emerging Trends, 2000 Workload of an Indigenous Samburu Woman, 1999, Video The Earth Charter, 2000 (contributor) Towards a Sustainable World, The Earth Charter in Action, article 2005 Grønland I Verdenssamfundet, 2006, article : Fra forskning I Grønland til grønlandsk forskning, on scientific research in Greenland (in Danish) INUIT, ICC-p aviisia, aaqqissuisutut, blad redaktion 2006 (in Greenlandic and Danish) Rethinking Nordic Colonialism – INUIT the demand for Cultural Space, 2006 Oqaatsip Kimia, the Power of the Word, case study, to the ILO, 2007 Angutit Iloqqasut / A Circle of Men, radio feature, 2009 Making the Declaration Work, IWGIA, article, 2010