ABSTRACT
The idea for an Arctic Council linking the eight Arctic states was originally proposed by the Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on a visit to northern Russia in 1989. In 1991 a more substantial framework was put forward by the Canadians, suggesting that the Council would provide a forum for the governments of the Arctic states to collaborate with indigenous peoples’ organisations to seek solutions for problems facing the Arctic. Initial interest was expressed by the Nordic countries, but not by the United States. In the mid-1990s, however, the Clinton administration reviewed US Arctic priorities and announced a new Arctic policy with greater emphasis on Arctic environmental protection. During a visit to Ottawa in early 1995, President Clinton endorsed the formation of the Arctic Council. The appointment of Mary Simon, a former president of the ICC, as Canada’s Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs gave greater impetus to the creation of the Council. Finally, after several years of meetings, negotiations and setbacks, the Arctic Council held its inaugural meeting in Ottawa on September 19th 1996, when ministers and senior representatives of the eight Arctic states signed the ‘Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council’. Leaders and senior representatives of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Saami Council and the Association of Indigenous Minorities of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation were also present. The Declaration provides for the full consultation and involvement of these indigenous organisations in the work of the Council. Representatives of several non-Arctic states and NGOs were also present at the signing ceremony.1
