Statement on the Kingdom of Denmark’s appointment of a new Arctic Ambassador: Commentary

Statement of Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes, Founder and Managing Director of Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI), on the Kingdom of Denmark’s appointment of a new Arctic Ambassador and launch of its Arctic Council chairship priorities

On 12 May 2025, the Kingdom of Denmark will take over the chairship of the Arctic Council from Norway for the term 2025-2027.

Since 2023, the Kingdom has not had an Arctic Ambassador: while Denmark had initially appointed a Danish candidate – its former ambassador to South Africa, Tobias Elling Rehfeldt – to the role in 2023, Greenland protested saying that Denmark had taken the decision unilaterally without involving Greenland. The Government of Greenland insisted that as the Kingdom of Denmark was rendered an Arctic state because of Greenland, it is Greenland that should wield the greatest influence in these decisions and field a candidate for the top job.

After protracted discussions between Greenland, Faroe Islands and Denmark over two years, Kenneth Høegh, a diplomat from Greenland, has been appointed Arctic Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark. As the Kingdom takes over the chairship of the Arctic Council, Høegh will also serve as Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials overseeing the work of the Arctic Council, while Vivian Motzfeldt, Greenland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, will serve as Chair of the Arctic Council at the political level.

Hailing from southwestern Greenland, Kenneth Høegh is one of the Kingdom’s most experienced diplomats. From 1998 to 2000, as a junior professional officer in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was posted on an assignment with the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) in Kathmandu, Nepal. From 2001 to 2009, he served as Chief Adviser to the Greenland Home Rule Government, before returning to South Asia from 2009 to 2013 for a posting with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Danida as Senior Adviser in Barisal and Dhaka in Bangladesh.

In 2013, after a short stint as a guest lecturer at the business college in Qaqortoq in Greenland, Høegh was posted to Hanoi, Vietnam, as Country Representative Vietnam for ADDA – Agricultural Development Denmark Asia. Thereafter, he returned to Greenland in 2014 to serve in the Mayor’s Office in Kujalleq Municipality, first as Business Development Manager (2014-2015), then Deputy CEO (2016-2017) and later Acting CEO (2017-2017).

In January 2018, he joined the Government of Greenland in Nuuk as Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, a position he held until July 2021. He was then posted in Washington, DC, as Head of the Greenland Representation in the US and Canada.

His appointment is noteworthy for a number of reasons. It will be the first time that Greenland has appointed an Arctic Ambassador. It will be the first time that a Greenlander will serve as Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials in the Arctic Council, while another Greenlander will serve as Chair of the Arctic Council at the political level. It comes at a time of great geopolitical tension, with seven of eight Arctic states at odds with the largest Arctic state, Russia, that is still waging war on Ukraine, while the US is now led by a President whose stance on Russia is not entirely clear, whose record on climate change is highly questionable, and who seems bent on acquiring Greenland “one way or another” and absorbing Canada, another Arctic state.

As Greenland’s man in DC over the past few months, Høegh has held arguably one of the two toughest jobs in international diplomacy. He will be leaping out of the frying pan and into the wild open fire now by taking on the second of the two toughest jobs in international diplomacy, namely overseeing the Arctic Council as Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials – at a time when both the US and Russia are proving to be principal drivers of global instability, albeit for different reasons.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, seven of the eight member states of the Arctic Council (US, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Kingdom of Denmark) suspended cooperation with the eighth member, Russia, raising questions about the future of the principal intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation in the Arctic. As of March 2022, all official meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies had been paused.

From February 2024, meetings of subsidiary bodies of the Arctic Council – such as Working Groups and Expert Groups – were gradually resumed so progress could be made on critical project-level work. It has allowed limited cooperation where it is most essential, but there still appears to be little prospect of resuming full cooperation, including at the political level.

In recognition of his “exceptional leadership in navigating the Arctic Council’s operations in a challenging time of geopolitical tension”, Norway’s Arctic Ambassador Morten Høglund – who served as Chair of the Arctic Council’s Senior Arctic Officials – was awarded the High North Hero Award 2025 in March. He described his experience as “intense, like being inside a tumble dryer”.

As the baton passes from Høglund to Høegh, I am confident that there is no one more suited and better prepared for the role and the responsibilities that come with it. His experience in the US and Canada, as well as in Europe and Asia, will stand him in good stead when it comes to navigating the challenges facing a region long seen as an exceptional one, free and protected from geopolitical tension elsewhere, but that now has to grapple with the strongest tides of global geopolitics that engulf it more than any other region.

On Friday, 11 March, the Kingdom of Denmark presented its Arctic Council Chairship priorities at an event in Nuuk. Greenland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt presented the chairship program, while the Kingdom’s new Arctic Ambassador Kenneth Høegh and the Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Sara Olsvig followed with their speeches.

The program makes clear that the Kingdom’s overall ambition will be “to have an inclusive Chairship and to bring the work of the Arctic Council close to the peoples and citizens living in the region who must have an impact on the activities in the region, particularly on how sustainable development is interpreted and advanced.” It outlined five thematic priorities: Indigenous Peoples and Communities of the Arctic; Sustainable Economic Development and Energy Transition Solutions; Oceans; Climate Change in the Arctic; and Biodiversity.

While the official handover of the chairship will take place in Tromsø in May, it is perhaps worth noting also that the Kingdom of Denmark will chair the Arctic Council as the latter marks its 30th anniversary in 2026. With Greenland, along with Denmark and the Faroe Islands, steering the Arctic Council for the next two years, and with Trump in charge in the US for another four, Greenland is poised to remain one of the most watched and discussed epicentres of geopolitics and geoeconomics in the years ahead.

Dr. Dwayne Menezes is a historian, foreign policy expert, and social entrepreneur specializing in the Commonwealth and Polar Regions. He is the Founder of the Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI), a London-based international think-tank dedicated to Arctic, Nordic and Antarctic affairs.

With a PhD from the University of Cambridge, Dr. Menezes has held academic and policy roles, including advising the Commonwealth and the UK Parliament. He is also a published author and associate producer of award-winning films.