by Marty Brown
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 10/97) - Rosemarie Kuptana has resigned as president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference citing health and personal reasons after less than two years at the helm.

Kuptana could not be reached for comment. But Corinne Gray, executive director of the ICC office in Ottawa said the former president was proudest of her negotiations leading up to the creation last year of the Arctic Council, which made the ICC a permanent participant in the international organization.

Kuptana has been replaced by Greenland's Aqqaluk Lynge. He was the vice-president.

"He's a long-time player in the international scene. Lynge has been involved with the ICC since it started," she said.

In her role as president of the international organization that includes Russia, The United States, Canada, Greenland and the four Scandinavian countries, Kuptana focused on environmental protection.

A former broadcaster with CBC Radio, Kuptana was vice-president of ICC from 1986 to 1989 before getting elected president in 1995.

Kuptana also served as president of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, the national political voice of Inuit in Canada from 1991 to 1996.

During that time she was the chief Inuit representative in Canadian constitutional negotiations, when aboriginals sought and came close to winning entrenchment of the inherent right to self-government.