Atli Dam

Atli Pætursson Dam (12 September 1932 – 7 February 2005)[1] was a Faroese politician who served as Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands on three separate occasions, most recently from 1991 to 1993. To this date, he is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Faroese history, having served a total of 16 years[2].

Atli Dam
Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
In office 15 January 1991 – 18 January 1993
Monarch	Margrethe II
Preceded by	Jógvan Sundstein
Succeeded by	Marita Petersen
In office 10 January 1985 – 18 January 1989
Monarch	Margrethe II
Preceded by	Pauli Ellefsen
Succeeded by	Jógvan Sundstein
In office 12 December 1970 – 5 January 1981
Monarch	Frederick IX Margrethe II
Preceded by	Kristian Djurhuus
Succeeded by	Pauli Ellefsen
Personal details
Born	12 September 1932 Tvøroyri, Faroe Islands
Died	7 February 2005(2005-02-07) (aged 72) Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Political party	Social Democratic

He was born in Tvøroyri in 1932 as the son of Peter Mohr Dam and Sigrid Ragnhild, née Strøm. He was educated engineer in 1964 and worked for the Danish company Haldor Topsøe until he became prime minister in 1970. He was vice president of the Faroese Mortgage Institution (Føroya Realkreditt) from 1981–1985, and again from 1989 until his death.

He was elected to the Løgting in 1970 and became Minister of Fisheries the same year, being appointed prime minister in the same year.

In addition, he was elected as one of two Faroese members of the Danish Folketing from 1987 to 1988[3] and 1990 to 1994.

In the wake of the Faroese financial crisis, compounded by his health issues, Dam resigned as prime minister and head of the Social Democratic Party on 18 February 1993, and was succeeded by Marita Petersen[4].

One of his biggest political achievements included his negotiations with the Danish Prime Minister Poul Schlüter, which resulted in the Faroese underground and all natural resources thereof becoming property of the Faroese state; before that, it belonged to the Danish.[5]

He was not re-elected for the Løgting at the 1994 elections.

References

• Løgtingið 150 – Hátíðarrit, vol. 2 (2002), page 265. (PDF)

1. Denstoredanske.dk
2. "j.fo, From the history of the Social Democratic Party of the Faroe Islands". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
3. snl.no
4. Politiken.dk
5. Information.dk, Våde, sorte drømme

Political offices
Preceded by Kristian Djurhuus	Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands 1970-1981	Succeeded by Pauli Ellefsen
Preceded by Pauli Ellefsen	Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands 1985-1989	Succeeded by Jógvan Sundstein
Preceded by Jógvan Sundstein	Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands 1991-1993	Succeeded by Marita Petersen