Atli Dam

Atli Pætursson Dam (12 September 1932 – 7 February 2005)^[1] was a Faroese politician who served as prime minister of the Faroe Islands on three occasions. From 1970 to 1981, 1985 to 1989, and 1991 to 1993. To this date, he is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Faroese history, having served a total of 16 years.^[2]

Atli Dam
Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
In office 15 January 1991 – 18 January 1993
Monarch	Margrethe II
Preceded by	Jógvan Sundstein
Succeeded by	Marita Petersen
In office 10 January 1985 – 18 January 1989
Monarch	Margrethe II
Preceded by	Pauli Ellefsen
Succeeded by	Jógvan Sundstein
In office 12 December 1970 – 5 January 1981
Monarchs	Frederik IX Margrethe II
Preceded by	Kristian Djurhuus
Succeeded by	Pauli Ellefsen
Personal details
Born	Atli Pætursson Dam 12 September 1932 Tvøroyri, Faroe Islands
Died	7 February 2005(2005-02-07) (aged 72) Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Political party	Social Democratic

Personal life

Dam was born in Tvøroyri on 12 September 1932 to Peter Mohr Dam and Sigrid Ragnhild, née Strøm.^[3] He received his bachelor's degree in engineering from the Danish Engineering Academy in 1964, and worked for the Danish company Haldor Topsøe until he became prime minister in 1970.^[4] He was vice president of the Faroese Mortgage Institution (Føroya Realkreditt) from 1981 to 1985, and again from 1989 until his death.^[5]

Political career

He was elected to the Løgting in 1970 and became Minister of Fisheries the same year, being appointed prime minister in the same year.^[5] In addition, he was elected as one of two Faroese members of the Danish Folketing from 1987 to 1988^[6] and 1990 to 1994.^[1]

One of his biggest political achievements included his negotiations with the Danish Prime Minister Poul Schlüter, which resulted in the Faroese underground and all natural resources thereof becoming property of the Faroese state; before that, it belonged to the Danish.^[7] He also held negotiations with neighboring countries that operated fishing fleets near Faroese waters and with the EEC in Brussels over disputing fishing rights, which results in an extension of Faroe Island's fishing limits to 200 nautical miles.^[1]

In the wake of the Faroese financial crisis, compounded by his health issues, Dam resigned as prime minister and head of the Social Democratic Party on 18 February 1993, and was succeeded by Marita Petersen.^[8] He was not re-elected for the Løgting at the 1994 elections.^[1]