Finn Lynge

Finn Lynge (22 April 1933[1] – 4 April 2014) was a Greenlandic politician, Indigenous rights activist, priest and civil servant who from 1979 until 1984 was the sole Member of the European Parliament for Greenland.[2] Lynge campaigned for Greenland withdrawal and his seat was abolished when Greenland withdrew from the European Communities.

Finn Lynge
Member of the European Parliament
In office
17 July 1979 – 31 December 1984
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencyGreenland
Personal details
Born(1933-04-22)22 April 1933
Nuuk, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark
Died4 April 2014(2014-04-04) (aged 81)
Qaqortoq, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark
NationalityGreenlandic
Political partySiumut
ParentsKristoffer Lynge (father)
Alma materUniversity of Copenhagen
OccupationWriter, Politician, Activist

Early life and career

Lynge was born in 1933 and grew up in Nuuk. As a teenager he moved to Denmark with his parents and graduated from secondary school in 1951. Lynge studied Danish and French at the University of Copenhagen before serving in the military. He trained to be a priest before serving in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States from 1963–64. He later served as a priest in Denmark and in Greenland. He subsequently resigned as a priest to marry.

Following that Lynge spent several years working for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for the Greenlandic Government.[3]

Indigenous activism and political career

Lynge served as a director for the Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa. Lynge also authored several books in Greenlandic, Danish and English.[4] From 1992-95 he was a member of the Board of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. He was opposed to Greenlandic membership of the European Communities and campaigned strongly for withdrawal.

Parliamentary service
  • Member, Committee on Agriculture (1979–81, 1982–84)
  • Member, Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (1981–82)
  • Member, Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights (1984)

References
  1. "2nd parliamentary term | Finn LYNGE | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  2. "Finn LYNGE - History of parliamentary service - MEPs - European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu.
  3. Nuttall, Mark (12 November 2012). Encyclopedia of the Arctic. Routledge. ISBN 9781136786808 – via Google Books.
  4. Affairs, International Work Group for Indigenous. "Orbituary for Finn Lynge".
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