Edward Itta
Edward Saggan Itta was an American Iñupiat politician, activist and whaling captain. Itta served as the Mayor of North Slope Borough, Alaska, the northernmost borough in the United States, for two consecutive terms from 2005 until 2011. On November 27, 2012, President Barack Obama appointed Itta to the seven-member United States Arctic Research Commission, a federal agency which functions as the government's Arctic policy and research commission. He served on the Commission until the expiration of his term on July 29, 2015.
Additionally, Itta served as the President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council of Alaska, President of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association, vice chairman of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, and a representative for Alaska on the Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee.
In November 2008, Itta was re-elected to a second term with more than 53% of the vote. His nearest opponent, former North Slope Borough mayor George Ahmaogak Sr., received nearly 40% in the 2008 mayoral election.
