Aili Keskitalo

President of the Sami Parliament of Norway Aili Keskitalo, incumbent since 16 October 2013.

Aili Keskitalo (born 29 October 1968) is a Norwegian Sami politician representing Norwegian Sámi Association (NSR), and the fifth and current president of the Sami Parliament of Norway, incumbent since 16 October 2013.

Prior to her current presidency, she served as president of the Sami Parliament of Norway in 2005, the third in its history and the first female President of any Sami Parliament. She stepped down in September 2007.^[1] The collapse of her coalition made way for the first ever non-NSR presidency, led by Egil Olli from the Norwegian Labour Party.

She has a Master in Public Administration from Copenhagen Business School, in which she compared the school systems in Norway and Greenland^[2]

Keskitalo was the first Sámi President whose mother tongue was not Sámi but norwegian. However, she speaks Northern Sami fluently.

References

1. Aslaksen, Eilif (25 September 2007). "Ingen hyggelig dag" [Not a fun day] (in Norwegian). NRK Sámi Radio. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
2. Keskitalo, Aili 2005: Høyere utdanningsinstitusjoner for urfolk - i en moderniseringstid : en komparativ analyse av endringer i rammebetingelser for Sámi allaskuvla/Samisk høgskole og Ilisimatusarfik ved årtusenskiftet. ('Higher Education Institutions in a Time of Modernisation: a Comparative Analysis of Changes in Requirements for the Sami University College and the University of Greenland at the Turn of the Century' - thesis from her MPA at South Trøndelag University College, North Trøndelag University College and Copenhagen Business School)