Sandra Andersen Eira
Sandra Andersen Eira in 2017
Member of the Sámi Parliament of Norway for Ávjovárri
Incumbent
In office
2017–2021
Personal details
Born (1986-06-21) 21 June 1986
CitizenshipNorwegian
Nationality Norway
Military career
Allegiance Ukraine
Service/branch Territorial Defense Forces
Years of service2022–present
RankPrivate/Volunteer
Battles/warsRusso-Ukrainian War

Sandra Andersen Eira (born 21 June 1986)[1] is a fisherwoman[2] and Norwegian Sámi politician from Russenes, Porsanger, Finnmark, Norway.[3] As of 2023, she is serving as a medic and an enlistee in the Ukraine Marine Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

From 2017 to 2021, she served as a member of the Sámi Parliament of Norway (Sametinget), elected to the Norwegian Sámi Association from the Ávjovárri constituency.[4]

Following the end of her term in the Sametinget, she spent a year commuting between the United States and Norway, including expanding her fishing business and being featured in a documentary titled Sea Sisters.[5] During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she joined a mixed-British and American ranger squad;[6] she worked as a medic on the squad. As of December 2022, she was still fighting for Ukraine; she has been back to Norway [at least] once, for a few days, to attend a plenary session of the Sámi Parliament of Norway.[7]

Andersen Eira took part, along with her unit, in the battle of Moshchun, near Kyiv and on the frontline in Mykolaiv in March 2022[7] and was later deployed to Bakhmut, in the Donbas, for a brief period.[8] Since spring of 2023 she is serving in the Donetsk region.

References

  1. ↑ "Sök personer". www.birthday.se. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Nilsen Trygstad, Andreas (5 May 2017). "Skipper Sandra: Folk har mye å lære om holdninger fra sjøfolk". NRK. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  3. ↑ Reinhall, Lori Ann (28 August 2021). "A young Sámi woman lives a dream and makes a difference". norwegianamerican.com.
  4. ↑ "Sametingsgruppa 2017-2021 – NSR". nsr.n (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Robert Larsen, Dan (10 January 2022). "Skipper Sandra (35) holder til i USA og driver forretninger i Norge". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Haram, Ola (7 April 2022). "Sandra Andersen Eira kriger i Ukraina". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Sandra (36): Fremmedkriger i Ukraina og sametingspolitiker". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  8. ↑ C, Kyla (19 January 2023). "From the War Zone: A Foreign Fighter in Ukraine and Her Time on the Ground". Strike Source. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
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