2008 Greenlandic self-government referendum 2008 Greenlandic self-government referendum A non-binding referendum on Greenland's autonomy was held on 25 November 2008. It was passed with 75% approval (63% in Nuuk) and a 72% turnout. The referendum was announced by Prime Minister Hans Enoksen on 2 January 2008. Enoksen also announced the launch of an information and discussion campaign on the issue of self-government. This included town hall meetings throughout the country. Greenland became a Danish colony in 1775 and was made a province of Denmark in 1953. In 1979, it was made an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, with a parliament and local
Greenland from Europe. There are no native or free-living reptiles or amphibians on the island. Phytogeographically, Greenland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. The island is sparsely populated in vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland and small bushes, which is regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Greenland is the European white birch ("Betula pubescens") along with gray-leaf willow ("Salix glauca"), rowans ("Sorbus aucuparia"), common junipers ("Juniperus communis") and other smaller trees, mainly willows. Greenland's flora comprises about 500 species of higher plants, i.e. flowering plants, ferns, horsetails and lycopodiophyta.