ICC has a new president

Jimmy Stotts, a member of the first executive of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in 1980, is taking over the leadership of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, a June 18 ICC new release said.

Stotts, an Iñupiaq from Barrow, Alaska, takes over from Patricia Cochran, who resigned as ICC Chair two weeks ago.

The ICC executive council at a special meeting unanimously approved Stotts’ appointment, the news release said.

“Mr. Stotts brings to ICC extensive experience in circumpolar and international matters, and has been active with the Inuit Circumpolar Council as both executive director and as executive council member from 1980 – 1989,” it said.

Stotts said he plans to focus on implementing the Inuit sovereignty declaration and building more cooperation with ICC offices in Canada, Greenland and Chukotka.

The ICC executive council issued a statement thanking Ms. Cochran for her dedication to circumpolar Inuit issues and leading ICC for the past three years.

Stotts’s term will end during the next ICC meeting to be held next summer in Nuuk.