BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A constitutional law professor from Denmark has traveled to Louisiana to seek clarity on Gov. Jeff Landry’s appointment as U.S. Special Envoy to Greenland and what the role entails.
Professor Frederik Waage, from the University of Southern Denmark, said Landry’s appointment has drawn significant attention in Denmark, where the governor’s responsibilities in the role have not been clearly defined publicly.
“I’ve come here to Louisiana as part of my U.S. trip to sort of investigate the role of the special envoy, Jeff Landry, your governor, due to the fact that he is a mystery at home in Denmark,” Waage said.
Professor seeks meeting with Landry
Waage said people in Denmark are trying to understand what the Trump administration and Landry want regarding Greenland.
“The point is mainly, of course, to try to figure out what his ideas are about Greenland. Because we are quite interested in this,” he said.
President Trump announced Landry’s appointment as special envoy in December. During the presidential transition and after returning to the Oval Office, President Trump repeatedly pushed for U.S. control of Greenland, calling it a strategic priority. Pres. Trump has not ruled out using military force to pursue that goal.
Waage said he hopes Landry will agree to meet with him and accept an invitation to speak at the University of Southern Denmark.
“I hope he would listen. I hope that I would be allowed to talk a bit with him about his role and invite him to Denmark to come and speak at the University of South Denmark,” Waage said.
Academic community weighs in
Waage’s trip to Louisiana includes conversations with students at Tulane University and LSU. He said the question of Greenland’s future extends beyond political leaders.
“This is not only something that is to be discussed among policy leaders. This is also an academic question to discuss the issue of the future of Greenland,” he said.
Leaders in Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly said the territory is not for sale. Waage said public opinion in Greenland has overwhelmingly rejected the idea of joining the United States.
Waage said he had not yet heard back from Landry regarding the invitation to Denmark.
“Because there is a great interest in Denmark, and it is most welcome. It would be very interesting to hear about his role and what his ideas are about Greenland,” he said.
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