The United States has cast a renewed geopolitical spotlight on Greenland with the appointment of conservative Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a close ally of the American president, as special envoy to the autonomous territory of Greenland, which remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The move signals that Washington’s focus on the Arctic is far from over, even as global competition intensifies.
Greenland’s importance to the US lies in its Arctic location and defence role, including key early warning and missile defence infrastructure, as well as rich deposits of critical minerals essential for advanced technologies. The Financial Times described more recent overtures as a “charm offensive,” aimed at strengthening cooperation with Greenlandic and Danish officials, rather than the tough talk Mr Trump demonstrated early into his second term. That said, Mr Landry was quoted by the Financial Times saying it was an honour to take the voluntary role, saying he wanted to “make Greenland part of the US,” a statement likely to irritate both Nuuk and Copenhagen.
Both capitals have repeatedly stressed the territory’s sovereignty and rejected any notion of Greenland becoming part of the United States.
Arctic strategic significance
Greenland is politically important for a myriad of reasons: it hosts the Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), a cornerstone of US and NATO missile warning, space surveillance, and early warning systems monitoring the Arctic approaches to North America. Its location along the North Atlantic makes it a critical platform for defence against potential threats from adversaries such as Russia and remains central to Western security architecture.
Minerals, great-power competition and local pushback
Beyond defence, experts say Greenland holds substantial reserves of rare earth elements and other minerals crucial for future technologies. While Denmark and Greenland are open to foreign investment in mining, they emphasise that the territory and its sovereignty are non-negotiable. By dropping a common cuss word, a Danish lawmaker made it unmistakably clear to Mr Trump earlier in the year that US influence stops at Greenland’s borders. It remains unclear whether the new special envoy will respect those nuances or attempt a push back of his own.
Meanwhile, in an update, Denmark announced on Monday it will call in the US ambassador following the naming of the special envoy for Greenland. Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was reportedly angered and strongly criticised both the appointment and the remarks surrounding it, describing them as completely unacceptable. Speaking to TV2, he said the foreign ministry would summon the US ambassador in the coming days to demand clarification.
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This story has been updated.
