Faroese prime minister says MPs can request leadership roles in committees

The Faroese prime minister has stated that all members of parliament are free to request leadership positions in the Løgting’s committees, following criticism that no women from his party hold such roles.

Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen, who also leads the People’s Party (Fólkaflokkurin), made the remarks after it emerged that none of the party’s three committee chair or vice-chair positions were held by women, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

Of the eight committees in the Faroese parliament—including the government affairs committee and the parliamentary oversight committee—seven men and one woman hold leadership roles. The People’s Party secured three of these positions, all occupied by men.

Elsebeth Mercedis Gunnleygsdóttur, though not a committee chair, serves as the parliament’s second deputy speaker and vice-chair of the finance committee.

The current committee chairs and vice-chairs from the People’s Party are:

• Helgi Abrahamsen (finance committee)

• Jørgen Niclasen (foreign affairs committee)

• Ben Arabo (labour committee)

• Fróði Magnussen (judicial committee and parliamentary oversight committee)

• Grímur Sundstein (welfare committee)

• Súsanna Bertholdsen (culture committee)

• Erhard Joensen (government affairs committee)

Johannesen’s comments come amid broader discussions about gender representation in Faroese political leadership.