Vera Leth

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Vera Leth

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| order = 2nd County Council Ombudsman for the Parliament of Greenland

| office =

| term_start = 1 February 1997

| term_end = 31 July 2023

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| primeminister = Lars-Emil Johansen

| predecessor = Emil Abelsen

| successor = Gedion Jeremiassen

| birth_name = Vera Amatsiak Jensen

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|7|4}}

| birth_place = Qutdligssat, Greenland

| nationality = Greenlandic

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| spouse = Henrik Leth

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| alma_mater = University of Copenhagen

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Vera Leth (born 4 July 1958) is a Greenlandic civil servant who was the County Council Ombudsman for the Parliament of Greenland between 1997 and 2023.

Career

Vera Amatsiak Leth (née Jensen) was born on 4 July 1958 in Qutdligssat, Greenland.{{cite web|title=Vera Leth|url=https://www.altinget.dk/person/vera-leth|publisher=Altinget|access-date=16 November 2017|language=Kalaallisut}} She attended the University of Copenhagen, where she earned a law degree in 1988. Leth then spent the following two and a half years working at a law firm, before working on business legislation. In 1996, Otto Steenholdt proposed Leth as the successor to Emil Abelsen as the Ombudsman of the Parliament. The Parliament voted unanimously for Leth to undertake the position, becoming the second person to hold the post.{{cite web|title=Valg af Landstingets Ombudsmand|url=https://ina.gl/dvd/cd-rom/samlinger/EM-1996/Dagsordenens%20punkt%2069-1.htm|publisher=Greenland County Council|access-date=16 November 2017|language=Kalaallisut}} In 2001, Leth was critical of the appointment of Jens-Kristian Kleist as the priest for Greenlanders in Denmark. This was regarding the way in which the Directorate for Culture, Education, Research and Church had dealt with Kleist, regarding the lack of housing for him in Denmark.{{cite news|last1=Kiil Sørensen|first1=Leif|title=Kritik af grønlandske kirkemyndigheder|url=https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/kirke-tro/kritik-af-gr%C3%B8nlandske-kirkemyndigheder|access-date=16 November 2017|work=Kristeligt Dagblad|date=9 May 2001|language=Danish}}

At an extraordinary meeting held on 8 April 2013, her tenure as Ombudsman was extended by the Parliament or a further four years.{{cite news|title=Vera Leth genvalgt som ombudsmand|url=http://sermitsiaq.ag/node/151723|access-date=16 November 2017|work=Sermitsiaq|date=9 April 2013|language=Kalaallisut}} Later that year, she investigated the hiring of Carsten Frank Hansen as head of the Ministry of Finance and Home Affairs, following the revaltion of his firing from his two previous positions in Denmark and his relationship with former Prime Minister of Greenland, Lars-Emil Johansen.{{cite news|last1=Højgaard Sørensen|first1=Bent|last2=Hyltoft|first2=Vibe|title=Ombudsmand går ind i grønlandsk skandalesag|url=https://www.b.dk/nationalt/ombudsmand-gaar-ind-i-groenlandsk-skandalesag|access-date=16 November 2017|work=Berlingske|date=2 October 2013|language=Danish}}

Leth was reelected for several further periods. However, after having upheld the position for more than a quarter of a century, on 1 August 2023, she was succeeded by Gedion Jeremiassen.{{cite web | url =https://www.altinget.dk/navnenyt/groenlands-parlament-finder-ny-ombudsmand | title =Grønlands parlament finder ny ombudsmand | publisher =altinget.dk | date = 5 June 2023 | accessdate = 12 August 2023 }}