
Former Faroese prime minister Anfinn Kallsberg passes away
Anfinn Kallsberg, former Prime Minister (lagmand) of the Faroe Islands, passed away at the age of 76. He led the conservative party Fólkaflokkurin from 1998 to 2004, working with and at times sharply criticizing Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, especially during prolonged negotiations about a new agreement on Faroese independence around the turn of the millennium. Kallsberg sought more autonomy for the Faroes, but the talks reached a deadlock. He once accused the Danish Prime Minister of conducting ‘revolver politics’ towards the Faroes and abandoned a planned 2001 independence referendum, acknowledging lack of public support. Faroe Islands nevertheless obtained self-governance in 2005, the year Kallsberg was elected to the Danish Parliament, serving until 2007. He retired from politics in 2011 after a career including multiple legislative roles since 1980.