Overview
One of the “lands of the midnight sun,” during its long history Norway has given the world the adventurous spirit of the Vikings, the plays of Henrik Ibsen and a humane model of domestic and foreign policy. Human settlement in what is considered present-day Norway dates back approximately 10,000 years to the Paleolithic era. Most notablly, the Viking Age from 800 to 1066 saw the expansion of Norwegian travel by raiders, explorers, traders, and settlers, as well as the establishment of the Norwegian kingdom. The Black Death killed half of Norway’s population in 1349, which plunged the country into a period of social, political, and economic decline. Norway had a period of alliance with Denmark and then Sweden, but established its autonomy in 1905. Since then, Norway has claimed neutrality in both World Wars. In the last century, Norway established itself as a prosperous nation with a booming economy supplied by the discovery of petroleum and natural gas.
Norway is one of the most prosperous and egalitarian societies on earth, with abundant natural resources, advanced high tech industry, one of the world’s longest life expectancies and a high state of culture and education. On the world scene, Norway provided the first Secretary General of the United Nations,, has been a leading voice on global environmental issues and has hosted the Winter Olympic Games twice (Oslo in 1952, and Lillehammer in 1994). The position of US ambassador to Norway is usually reserved for donors and friends of the president of the United States. The last 11 US ambassadors to Norway have been “non-career appointees.”
Basic Information
Lay of the Land: Located on the western third of the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe, the mountainous nation of Norway sits about 600 feet higher than Europe as a whole. Norway is bordered by the North Sea to the south, the Norwegian Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Berents Sea to the North, and Russia, Finland, and Sweden to the east. The northernmost part of the country extends into the Arctic Circle, while the border with Sweden runs along the Scandinavian mountains, with the highest peak having an elevation of 8,100 feet. Norway’s coastline is slashed with countless fjords, which have long provided excellent harbors for this traditionally seafaring people. With an area of 148,746 square miles, Norway is about the same size as Montana. Approximately 66% of Norway is tundra, glacier, rock or snowfields, 25% is forested, and only 3 to 4% is arable. Norway’s climate is not as cold as its latitude suggests, because the North Atlantic Drift brings warm, damp air to the whole country. The capital and largest city of Oslo, which is home to over 800,000 Norwegians, is the third largest city in Scandinavia, after Copenhagen and Stockholm.
Population: 4.7 million
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran (state church of Norway) 85%, other Protestant 2.8%, Muslim 1.6%, Catholic 1.0%, other (Buddhist, Jewish, Orthodox Christian, Sikh, Hindu) 1%, non-religious 8.5%. Membership in the state-sponsored Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway is assumed, unless declared otherwise, so figures are certainly overestimated. Furthermore, only about 32% of Norwegians believe in God, and, according to author and human rights activist Kevin Boyle, only 3% attend church on Sunday.
Ethnic Groups: Norwegian (includes about 60,000 Sami) 94.4%, other European 3.6%, other 2%.
Languages: Bokmål Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), Saami (Lule, North, Pite, South) 0.3%, Kven Finnish 0.2%, Romani (Tavringer, Vlax) 0.1%, Traveler Norwegian.
History
Human settlement has been traced back 10,000 years to the Paleolithic age. Archeological evidence has revealed the remains of settlers from Doggerland, an area that is now submerged in the North Sea.
From 8,300 BCE to 7,300 BCE the Fosna-Hensbacka culture inhabited parts of Norway. Late Paleolithic/early Mesolithic cultures in Scandanavia focused on fishing and seal hunting and were considered pure hunter-gatherer cultures. The Neolithic Age from 4,000 BCE to 1,800 BCE also showed evidence that Norway was home to hunter-gatherers. The Bronze Age and the Iron Age saw a significant transformation of this region, primarily the formation of kingdoms and more permanent settlements.
The permanent settlements that began appearing approximately 6,000 years ago were along the coast of Norway, within the vicinity of Oslo. Early Norwegians depended on farming and fishing, and developed a seafaring tradition that reached its height in the Viking era (800 to 1050), when Norse warriors conducted regular raids on the British Isles, the coasts of Western Europe, and even the interior of Russia. The Vikings established colonies in Iceland, Greenland, North America (which Leif Eriksson called Vinland), and the British Isles more than a thousand years ago.
After numerous attempts to unite kingdoms within Norway, King Harald Fairhair (872-930) became the first king to unify it into one kingdom. Until King Olav IV, who died in 1387, the kings of Norway claimed descent from Herald Fairhair. Following Fairhair’s death, Norway was ruled wholly or in part, by these descendents. During this period, Christianity was introduced to the region and the first king to adopt it was King Haakon. The first king to extend his rule inland was Olaf Haraldsson (1015-1028). He resorted to forceful means to convert people to Christianity and after his death was referred to as a saint.
During the Middle Ages, all sons of the kings had the same right to inherit the crown from their father, including sons born out of wedlock. Thus, the kingdom of Norway was frequently divided among successors. Economic and social conflict was prevalent during this period. As a result, the death of Sigurd the Crusdader produced a series of civil wars. However, peace and stability returned to Norway under King Haakon Haakonsson (1217-1263). During his reign, Norway annexed Iceland and Greenland. Under King Haakon and his successors, a more centralized administration was formed. In 1319, after Haakon V’s death, Norway lost its independence and united with Sweden, an arrangement that lasted until 1355.
The Black Death swept across Europe from 1348 to 1350, reaching Norway in 1349, lasting for six months and killing anywhere from half to two thirds of the population. The loss of so many people caused Norway to enter into a period of decline.
From 1380 to 1814, Norway was part of Denmark, and largely ruled from Copenhagen, although Norwegians retained some autonomy regarding local affairs. Trade and commerce grew in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. In the 17th century, Norway exported fish, timber, iron ore and copper and in the 18th century Norway primarily focused on manufacturing iron goods. In 1814, at the close of the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden gained control of Norway, although Norway had its own constitution and retained local autonomy.
The 19th century saw the growth and expansion of the agricultural and timber industries, the Norwegian merchant fleet, and the Norwegian population. Nationalism grew in strength, culminating in the impeachment of the entire government in 1884 and the establishment of Norway as a parliamentary democracy. In 1898 all men, except those receiving poor relief, were given the right to vote.
In 1905, Norway gained its independence as a constitutional monarchy. Neutral during World War I, Norway was invaded and occupied by Germany from 1940 to 1945, although an active resistance was successful in tying down German forces and in hampering the German atom bomb project.
In the post War era, Norway abandoned neutrality by joining NATO in 1949, but within the context of a tacit Cold War “Nordic balance.” For example, NATO was not allowed to establish military bases or stockpile nuclear weapons in Norway or Denmark, while Sweden remained neutral. As a result, relations gradually improved between the Soviet Union and the Nordic countries.
Norway rebounded from the wars and prospered in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In the 1970s Norway began to exploit oil and gas reserves found in the North Sea. While the number of jobs in agriculture and timber declined, the number of people in service industries increased.
In 1972 the Norwegian electorate voted against joining the European Commission. In 1994 Norway reaffirmed its rejection of the European Union
Norway was, however, a founding member of the United Nations, and the first UN General Secretary, Trygve Lie, was Norwegian. Its policies of government ownership of key economic sectors, along with abundant oil and mineral wealth, and democratic politics have made Norway one of the most prosperous and happy countries in the world.
History of Norway (Euro Docs)
Norway's Newspapers
Norway's Newspapers
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Østlands-Posten (Larvik & Lardal Counties)
Østlendingen (Hedmark County)
Aftenbladet [In English] (Rogaland)
Akershus Amtstidend
Arbeidets Rett (Hedmark County)
Aura Avis (Sunndal)
Avisen Agder (Flekkefjord)
Avisa Nordland (Combines Nordlandsposten & Nordlands Framtid)
Bellona [In English]
Brønnøysund Avis (Nordland)
Bygdanytt (Arna og Osterøy)
Drammens Tidende (Drammen, Buskerud)
Fjuken (Vågå, Lom, Skjåk)
Foreigner [In English]
Fredriksstad Blad (Østfold)
Hamar Arbeiderblad (Hedmark County)
Helgelands Blad (Nordland, Helgeland)
iStavern.no (Stavern Town)
Kragerø Blad (Telemark, Kragerø)
Laagendalsposten (Kongsberg)
Larvik24.no (Larvik, Lardal)
Lofotposten (Lofoten)
Malvik Bladet (Malvik)
Morgenbladet (Oslo)
Nettavisen (Oslo)
Norway Post [In English]
Nye Troms (Troms)
Opdalingen (Sør-Trøndelag)
Opp (Oppdal)
The Overseas Time [In Urdu]
Pakistan Overseas Daily (Oslo) [In Urdu]
Rana Blad (Nordland)
Romsdals Budstikke (Molde)
Studvest (University of Bergen)
Sunnhordland (Stord, Fitjar, Tysnes, Kvinnherad & Bømlo)
Telen (Notodden)
Verdalingen (Nord-Trøndelag, Verdal)
Vesterålen Online (Vesterålen Region)
Vest-Telemark Blad (Seljord, Kviteseid, Vinje, Tokke & Nissedal, Telemark)
History of U.S. Relations with Norway
Relations between the U.S. and Norway have always been close. The American Revolution of 1776 had a positive impact on Norway, such that the democratic ideals of the Constitution served as a template for the Norwegian constitution in 1814. The US was among the first countries to recognize Norway’s independence from Sweden in 1905. The relationship between the US and Norway was bolstered by the massive Norwegian emigration to the US during the period of 1825 and 1940.
The US government assisted the expatriate Norwegian government in London during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945,. In 1948 the Marshall Plan was signed by the US and European allies, including Norway, establishing a master financial-aid-coordinating agency, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the post-war era, the US has valued Norway’s participation in NATO..
In 1981, at the height of the Cold War, Norway agreed to grant the US access to more than 700,000 square feet of facilities in central Norway. Included are six climate-controlled caves, two airfields, and a trained Norwegian work force. No major US-led training has occurred in Norway since 2005.
Norway and the US disagree with regards to commercial whaling. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted in 1982 for a moratorium on commercial whaling, which Norway formally rejected. After 1986, Norway did discontinue whaling practices, but resumed whaling again in 1993. The US believes that Norway should abide by international will. Much of the whale meat from Norway makes its way to markets in Japan.
Norway has withdrawn investments in 12 American companies for failing to live up to its ethical code of conduct that was established in 2004. Some companies that Norway shuns include Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Wal-Mart.
Relations with Norway at Crossroads (by Dan Lamothe, Marine Corps Times)
United States Condemns Norway Whaling (Press Statement)
Current U.S. Relations with Norway
Noted Norwegian-Americans
Arts and Entertainment
John Aasen, born to a Norwegian immigrant mother, was an American silent film actor who was one of the tallest actors in history.and always played giants.
Lynn Anderson is an American country music singer,most popular in the 1970s. She traces her Norwegian ancestry from her Norwegian grandfather.
James Arness, born to Norwegian immigrants,is an American actor best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for 20 years.
Jean Arthur, an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s was recognized for her screwball comedy and leading roles in Frank Capra films. Her grandparents were immigrants from Norway.
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name Beck and recognized for songs in pop-culture television shows and movies. His mother has Norwegian ancestry.
James Cagney, whose parents were of Norwegian descent, was an American film actor and is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.
Jennifer Connelly was born to an Irish-Norwegian father and is an American film actress and former child model recognized for her roles in Requiem for a Dream (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001).
Tom Drake was an American actor who made films starting in 1940 and continued until the mid-1970s, He starred in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Mrs. Parkington (1944), and Words and Music (1948), among many others.
Bob Fosse, born to a Norwegian father and Irish mother, was an American musical theater choreographer and director, screenwriter and film director. He won eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction, and he won an Academy Award for directing Cabaret.
Peter Graves is an American film and television actor whose father was Norwegian. He is known for his starring role in the television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973, and its revival, from 1988 to 1990.
Melanie Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl. Her maternal grandparents were of Norwegian descent.
Josh Groban, who has Norwegian genes from his mother’s grandparents, is an American singer-songwriter.
Matthew Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter and producer who traces his Norwegian roots through his Norwegian-American mother. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell and the television series The Simpsons and Futurama.
Ron Hauge is an American television writer. In his earlier career, Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show.
Conrad Hilton, born to a Norwegian immigrant father, was an American hotelier and founder of the Hilton Hotels chain.
Paris Hilton, the great granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, is an American celebrity.
Jon Jerde , of Norwegian descent is an American architect based in Venice, California, founder & chairman of The Jerde Partnership, a design architecture and urban planning firm that pioneered the concept of placemaking and "experience architecture."
David Johansen, the son of a Norwegian-American, is an American rock, protopunk, blues and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He was a member of the protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.
Richard Matheson, the son of Norwegian immigrants, is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come and I Am Legend, both of which have been adapted as major motion pictures.
The Olsen Twins, Mary Kate and Ashley,of Norwegian and Danish descent, are known for their television acting starting at six months of age and subsequent involvement in movies, television, fashion, and producing.
Peggy Lee was an award-winning American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress.
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, and model. Her father was Norwegian.
Barry Nelson, of Norwegian ancestry, was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.
Priscilla Beaulieu Presley is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the ex-wife of singer and actor Elvis Presley, and the mother of singer/songwriter Lisa Marie Presley. Her grandfather emigrated from Norway.
Charles Schulz grew up with his Norwegian mother and became an American cartoonist best known worldwide for his Peanuts comic strip.
Eric Sevareid was a CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents dubbed "Murrow's Boys" He was of Norwegian descent.
Matt Sorum is an American hard rock drummer and percussionist. Sorum is most famous for his 7-year stint in Guns N' Roses (1990-1997). His parents were of English and Norwegian descent.
Renée Zellweger, is an American actress and producer. She starred in the films Jerry Maguire (1996), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) the musical Chicago (2002), and Cold Mountain (2003). Her mother was Norwegian-born.
Science
Peter Agre is an American medical doctor, professor, and molecular biologist who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of aquaporins.
Gene Myron Amdahl, born to immigrant parents of Norwegian and Swedish descent, is a computer architect and hi-tech entrepreneur, chiefly known for his work on mainframe computers at IBM and later his own companies, especially Amdahl Corporation. He is perhaps best known for formulating Amdahl's law, which states a fundamental limitation of parallel computing.
Christian Boehmer Anfinsen, Jr. was a biochemist and a 1972 Nobel Prize laureate for work on ribonuclease
Gunvald Auswas a Norwegian-American engineer, most associated with the engineering of the Woolworth Building in New York City.
Earl E. Bakken is an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist of Norwegian American ancestry. He founded Medtronic, where he developed the first wearable artificial pacemaker in 1957.
Norman Borlaug was an American agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel laureate who has been deemed the father of the Green Revolution. Borlaug was one of only six people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart is an American inventor and early computer pioneer. He is best known for inventing the computer mouse.
Ivar Giaever was born in Norway and took up U.S. citizensip; he is a physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Leo Esaki and Brian Josephson "for their discoveries regarding tunnelling phenomena in solids."
Gary Arlen Kildall was an American computer scientist and microcomputer entrepreneur who created the CP/M operating system and founded Digital Research, Inc. (DRI).
Ernest Orlando Lawrence was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate, known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron atom-smasher beginning in 1929, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project.
Lars Onsager was a Norwegian–American physical chemist and theoretical physicist, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Theodor Holm Nelson is an American sociologist, philosopher, and pioneer of information technology. He coined the term "hypertext" and "hypermedia" in 1963 and published it in 1965.
Charles John Pedersen was an American organic chemist best known for describing methods of synthesizing crown ethers and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987.
Sally Ride, of Norwegian descent,is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut who was the first American woman to go into space.
Sports
Gil Anderson was an Norwegian-American racecar driver active during the formative years of auto racing.
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is a former American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO.
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian, eventually naturalized as an American citizen, known for being a figure skater and actress. She was a three-time Olympic Champion (1928, 1932, 1936), a ten-time World Champion (1927-1936) and a six-time European Champion (1931-1936). Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater.
Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins..
Sarah Reinertsen is an American athlete. She was the first female leg amputee to complete the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.
Government and Military
John Ashcroft is a United States politician who was the 79th United States attorney general. He served during the first term of President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2005. His grandparents were from Norway.
Joseph Jacob "Joe" Foss was the leading fighter ace of the United States Marine Corps during World War II, a 1943 recipient of the Medal of Honor, a General in the Air National Guard, the 20th Governor of South Dakota, and the first commissioner of the American Football League.
Colonel Gail Halvorsen is a retired career officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force. He is best known for piloting C-47s and C-54s during the Berlin airlift (also known as "Operation Vittles") during 1948–1949 and for being the original Candy Bomber.
Brynhild Haugland was a North Dakota Republican Party politician who was well-known for being one of the first female legislators in the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, as well as for being the longest serving state legislator in the history of the United States because of her continuous 52-year tenure in the North Dakota House of Representatives.
Hubert Humphrey, Jr., born to Norwegian parents, served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States.
Egil “Bud” Krogh, Jr. is an American lawyer who became famous as an official of the Richard Nixon administration, and who was imprisoned for his part in the Watergate scandal.
Karl Rove (was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until his resignation on August 31, 2007.
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States and is to date the only person elected Governor of California three times.
Writer/Author/Journalist
Rolf G. Fjelde was an American playwright, educator and poet. Fjelde was the founding president of the Ibsen Society of America, which is dedicated to the works of Henrik Ibsen.
Elias Molee was an American journalist, philologist and linguist. Elias Molee is known as the creator of the language Tutonish. He also invented a system of shorthand. He only used lower case letters.
Ole Rolvaag was an American novelist and professor who became well known for his writings on the Norwegian-American immigrant experience. He is most frequently associated with his epic novel of Norwegian immigrant homesteaders, entitled Giants in the Earth.
Miscellaneous
Belle Sorenson Gunness was one of America's most prolific known female serial killers, allegedly killing approximately 40 people including her own daughters.
Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo became the first people ever to row across an ocean.
Sven Oftedal was a Norwegian American Lutheran minister who helped found the Lutheran Free Church.
Relations between the US and Norway remain close. Although the Bush administration criticized Norway’s decisions to divest from several US companies on grounds that they were failing to live up to proper business ethics, this issue never seriously threatened relations between the two countries.
In 1949,, Norway was one of the initial 11 nations to sign the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) and has been since been an active participant.
Following the September 11th attacks, Norway supported the global war on terror. Norway was subsequently supportive of NATO in invoking Article 5 of the alliance constitution, pledging all members to collective security in the event of the attack on one.
However, the public of Norway did not support the Iraq War and their leaders were similarly against it. They contended that the UN international weapons inspectors should be given more time and that actions should not be taken without the authorization of the UN Security Council. A largrge majority of Norwegians opposed the Iraq War, however, in 2004, Norway joined the Multi-National Force in Iraq. Norway officially withdrew its troops in 2006.
Norway is a part of the International Security Assistance Force, a NATO-led security and development mission in Afghanistan, established by the UN Security Council in 2001..
4,477,725 people identified themselves as being of Norwegian ancestry in the 2000 U.S. census. Planned group migration began with the landing of the sloop Restauration in New York in 1825, which was filled with 53 Norwegians. Annual arrivals began in 1836, and by 1865 nearly 80,000 Norwegians had come to America. Immigrants came as families and formed strong communities, preserving their culture, religion, and values.
Norwegian emigration exploded between 1866 and 1873, when 110,000 Norwegians left their home country and headed abroad to seek opportunity, mostly in America. The exodus of Norwegians during this period was only surpassed by Irish emigration, spurred by the Great Potato Famine of 1845-1853. Out of 900,000 Norwegians to journey to America, 780,000 arrived between 1865 and 1930. Thanks to the increased ease of transportation, 25% of immigrants between 1881 and 1930 returned to Norway. Early Norwegian settlers formed cohesive agrarian communities across the Midwest, where more than half of Norwegian Americans still live today. Minnesota claims the largest population of Norwegian Americans, followed by Wisconsin, California, Washington, and North Dakota.
163,000 Americans visited Norway in 2006. The number of tourists peaked in 2004 (176,000 visitors) before falling to 146,000 the following year. Visits are up overall from 2002, when 126,000 Americans went to Norway.
145,359 Norwegians visited the US in 2006. Tourism has grown consistently since 2002, when 112,593 Norwegians came to America.
Norway and the US- A Common Future? (Norway Mission to the UN)
Where Does the Money Flow
Norway is one of the most prosperous countries in the world, boasting the second highest GDP per-capita (after Luxembourg) in the world. Norway was ranked first in the world in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) for six consecutive years (2001-2006), and came in second in 2007/2008. In 2009, Norway returned to its first-place ranking on the HDI. Norway has achieved its prosperity by means of a mixed economy, featuring a combination of free market activity and substantial government ownership in key industrial sectors, such as the strategic petroleum sector (StatoilHydro), hydroelectric energy production (Statkraft), aluminum production (Norsk Hydro), the largest Norwegian bank (DnB NOR) and telecommunication provider (Telenor). In fact, the government controls 31.6% of publicly-listed companies. Norway is richly endowed with natural resources including petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals. Large reserves of petroleum and natural gas were discovered in the 1960s, which has led to continuing prosperity.
Trade between the US and Norway is substantial, and weighted toward Norway. In 2008, US imports from Norway totaled $7.3 billion, dominated by petroleum products and liquefied natural gases, nickel and other metals ($248.3 million), and food products.
American imports that increased included industrial other nonferrous metals, increasing from $81.2 million to $152.2 million; other petroleum products jumping, up from $337.0 million to $1.3 billion; and Steelmaking and unmanufactured,ferroalloying materials-, rising from $113.3 million to $156.1 million.
US imports from Norway on the decline included crude, falling from $2.7 billion to $700 million;, newsprint down from $11.4 million to $2.1 million; and hides, skins, and fur hides, decreasing from $618 thousand to $0.
US exports to Norway in 2008 came to only $3.3 billion, led by aircraft engines and parts ($423.7 million), , nonferrous metals ($218 million), drilling and oilfield equipment ($204.6 million), measuring, testing and control instruments ($172.7 million), industrial engines ($168.5 million), medicinal equipment ($93.6 million).
US exports that increased to Norway included drilling and oil field equipment, rising from $130.1 million to $204.6 million; measuring, testing, control instruments, moving up from $59.2 million to $172.7 million; and telecommunications equipment, up from $62.4 million to $143.1 million; petroleum products, increasing from $29.6 million to $74.5 million;
US exports from Norway on the decline included chemicals-inorganic, falling from $66.8 million to $33.2 million;, chemicals-organic, down from $46.3 million to $19.0 million; and engines and turbines for military aircraft, decreasing from $21.0 million to $14.0.
The US sold $383.4 million in defense articles and services to Norway in 2007.
Controversies
Barack Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
US President Barack Obama became the recipient of the prestigious Noble Peace Prize awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Obama’s Nobel Prize garnered both praise and criticism. Among the likes of people such as Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King Jr., critics wondered what prompted the Norwegian panel to honor him with the award. The committee cited his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” It is possible, some say, that he received the award not for the decisions he made, but to compel him to make peaceful decisions in the future. Others contend that he received the award simply for engaging the US with the world once again, a stark contrast from the policy of the previous administration George W. Bush.
World Reacts to Obama’s Peace Prize Honor (United Press International)
A Nobel Cause (by Andrew Hitti, Columbia Spectator)
Norway Rejects Some US Companies as Unethical
Over the last decade, Norway brought in over $300 billion from oil profits. Although Norway had amassed a large sum of money, the Norwegian government established an ethical code in 2004, known as the Government Pension Fund, that steered their money away from unethical companies. Among them are the behemoth American retailer, Wal Mart and the makers of nuclear weapons or related components, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin. Norway’s decisions not to invest in certain US companies that fail to meet standards created to govern its Government Pension Fund had invoked an irritated response from the Bush administration. Critics claim that their judgments are arbitrary, outdated, and inaccurate.
Norway Keeps Nest Egg From Some U.S. Companies (by Mark Landler, New York Times)
Diplomatic Broadside (by Jonathan Tisdall, Aftenposten)
Human Rights
Norway is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy governed by a prime minister, a cabinet, and the 169-seat Storting (parliament), which is elected every four years and cannot be dissolved. Free and fair elections to the multiparty parliament have been held at regular intervals during Norway’s 100 years of independence, with the sole exception of the years of German occupation from 1940 to 1945. Civilian authorities generally maintain effective control of the security forces.
Labor rights are broadly interpreted and well respected, which has led to the most egalitarian social structure in the world. Freedom of the press is extremely strong in Norway, which the organization Reporters Without Borders ranked first (in a tie with Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden) in its 2009 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. The US ranked only 20th.
According to the State Department, “prison conditions generally met international standards, and the government permitted visits by independent human rights observers; however, no such visits took place during the year. The system was considered transparent; prisoners were represented by an ombudsman who could visit at prisoner request or at the ombudsman's own initiative.”
The State Department reported, “Tthe police force was generally effective, and corruption was not generally a problem. Adequate measures were in place to investigate police abuses. An independent police complaint commission investigates reports of corruption within the police force.”
In addition, the State Department noted “trials are public. Juries are used only in criminal cases heard by the court of appeals. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Defendants have the right to be present, to have counsel--at public expense if necessary--to confront and question witnesses, to present evidence and witnesses, and to appeal. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. The law extends the above rights to all citizens.”
Furthermore, the State Department found “there were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. The constitution and law provide for freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right in practice.”
According to the State Department “the law permits private or religious schools and day care centers to ask persons seeking employment whether they will respect and teach the denomination's beliefs and principles. Employers may reject applicants on the basis of their responses. In February 2007 the Ministry of Education allowed schools to prohibit the wearing of the niqab (a veil worn by strictly observant Muslim women that entirely covers the face except for the eyes), but there were no reports that school officials implemented the prohibition.”
The State Department reported “there were 64 women in the 169-seat parliament and seven women among the 19 Supreme Court justices. Women headed nine of the 19 government ministries. There was one member of a minority in parliament. There were no minority ministers or Supreme Court justices.”
The State Department also reported, “the law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the government enforced the law. The number of rapes reported during 2007 was 1,060, an increase from 2006.”
Furthermore, the State Department revealed “violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The law provides higher penalties for domestic violence than for simple assault–-generally one to six years in prison, with an increased term in more severe cases--and the government enforced the law in practice. In 2007, 948 cases of domestic violence were registered.”
In addition, the State Department wrote “in 2007 childcare services investigated 32,700 allegations of abuse and intervened in 6,300 cases that authorities considered to constitute child abuse or failure to care for a child.”
According to the report by the State Department, “the country was a destination for women and children trafficked from Nigeria, Russia, Albania, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Brazil, and East Asian countries for sexual exploitation. Victims were sometimes trafficked to the country through transit countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and the Balkan countries.”
Past Ambassadors
Benson K. Whitney served as the US Ambassador to Norway from November 28, 2005. Until June 20, 2009. He received his BA magna cum laude from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and earned his JD from the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis. His father, Wheelock Whitney, Jr., was a classmate of George H.W. Bush at Phillips Andover Academy.
Whitney’s career has included extensive experience in business, law, and community affairs. Whitney practiced law, specializing in health care, cable television and other regulated industries as well as election law. He then served as Managing General Partner of the Gideon Hixon Fund, an evergreen venture capital fund focused on early stage technology and health care companies in Minnesota and California. Whitney was elected President of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association and advised and managed several other venture funds. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of Whitney Management Company, a private investment advisory firm.
Whitney has been involved for many years in Republican Party politics at the local, state and national levels. He served as Minnesota Executive Director and Minnesota Finance Chair for Bush-Cheney ’04, as well as Minnesota Finance Chair for the Republican National Committee. According to the opensecrets website, between 1994 and 2007, he contributed $232,723 to Republican candidates and organizations. In 2000, however, he made contributions to federal election campaigns and political committees that exceeded the annual aggregate limits for individuals by $5,500, and had to disgorge the same amount as a penalty.
Past Ambassadors
Charles H. Graves
Appointment: Mar 8, 1905
Presentation of Credentials: May 31, 1905
Termination of Mission: Functions with respect to Norway ceased, Aug 6, 1906
Notes: Commissioned to Sweden and Norway; resident at Stockholm. Graves continued as ambassador to Sweden through 1913. He also served as mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, from 1882 to 1883.
Herbert H. D. Peirce
Appointment: Jun 22, 1906
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 13, 1906
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, May 30, 1911
Laurits S. Swenson
Appointment: Apr 27, 1911
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 10, 1911
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, Oct 4, 1913
Note: He also served as ambassador to Denmark, from 1897 to 1905; Switzerland, from 1910 to 1911; and Netherlands, from 1931 to 1934.
Albert G. Schmedemann
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jul 21, 1913
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 4, 1913
Termination of Mission: Left post Jul 29, 1921
Note: He also served as mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, from 1926 to 1929, and as Governor of Wisconsin, from 1933 to 1935.
Laurits S. Swenson
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Oct 8, 1921
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 28, 1921
Termination of Mission: Left post Nov 9, 1930
Hoffman Philip
Appointment: Jul 22, 1930
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 15, 1930
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 3, 1935
Note: He also served as Minister or Ambassador to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), from 1908 to 1910; Colombia, from 1917 to 1922; Uruguay, from 1922 to 1925; Persia (now Iran), from 1925 to 1928; and Chile, from 1935 to 1937.
Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr.
Non-career appointee
Title: Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Appointment: Jul 22, 1935
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 7, 1935
Termination of Mission: Left post May 21, 1937
Florence Jaffray Harriman
Non-career appointee
Appointment: May 4, 1937
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 1, 1937
Termination of Mission: The Government of Norway left Oslo, Apr 9, 1940, in anticipation of German occupation; Harriman left Norway, Apr 22, 1940
Note: Raymond E. Cox was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when the Legation in Oslo was closed, Jul 15, 1940. Rudolf E. Schoenfeld opened the Legation near the Government of Norway established in England, making his initial call as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim on Aug 2, 1940.
Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr.
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Feb 11, 1941
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 20, 1941
Termination of Mission: Left London, Dec 1, 1943
Note: Served near the expatriate Government of Norway established in England; commissioned also to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Yugoslavia; resident at London.
Lithgow Osborne
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 20, 1944
Termination of Mission: Left Oslo, Apr 20, 1946
Note: Served near the Government of Norway established in England; resident first at London; transferred the Embassy to Oslo, May 31, 1945.
Charles Ulrick Bay
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 6, 1946
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 26, 1946
Termination of Mission: Appointment terminated, Jul 31, 1953
L. Corrin Strong
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 24, 1953
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 10, 1953
Termination of Mission: Left post Feb 16, 1957
Frances E. Willis
Appointment: May 20, 1957
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 19, 1957
Termination of Mission: Left post May 15, 1961
Note: She also served as Ambassador to Switzerland, from 1953 to 1957, and to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), from 1961 to 1964.
Clifton R. Wharton
Appointment: Mar 2, 1961
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 18, 1961
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 4, 1964
Note: He also served as Minister to Romania from 1958 to 1960.
Margaret Joy Tibbetts
Appointment: Jul 31, 1964
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 6, 1964
Termination of Mission: Left post May 23, 1969
Philip K. Crowe
Non-career appointee
Appointment: May 1, 1969
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 23, 1969
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 31, 1973
Note: He also served as ambassador to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), from 1953 to 1956; South Africa, from 1959 to 1961; and Denmark, from 1973 to 1975.
Thomas R. Byrne
Appointment: Aug 3, 1973
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 4, 1973
Termination of Mission: Left post Apr 10, 1976
Note: He also served as ambassador to Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia) from 1976 to 1978.
William A. Anders
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Apr 13, 1976
Presentation of Credentials: May 11, 1976
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 18, 1977
Louis A. Lerner
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jul 15, 1977
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 23, 1977
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 28, 1980
Sidney Anders Rand
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Dec 20, 1979
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 4, 1980
Termination of Mission: Left post Feb 14, 1981
Mark Evans Austad
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Dec 11, 1981
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 5, 1982
Termination of Mission: Left post Sep 15, 1984
Note: He also served as Ambassador to Finland from 1975 to 1977.
Robert D. Stuart
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Sep 18, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 16, 1984
Termination of Mission: Left post Jul 17, 1989
Loret Miller Ruppe
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Aug 7, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 29, 1989
Termination of Mission: Left post Feb 28, 1993
Thomas A. Loftus
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Nov 4, 1993
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 18, 1993
Termination of Mission: Left post Dec 22, 1997
David B. Hermelin
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Nov 10, 1997
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 8, 1998
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 7, 2000
Robin Chandler Duke
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Aug 3, 2000
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 12, 2000
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 1, 2001
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; a later nomination of Sep 28, 2000, was not acted upon by the Senate.
John D. Ong
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jan 30, 2002
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 27, 2002
Termination of Mission: Left post Nov 21, 2005
Norway's Ambassador to the U.S.
Strommen, Wegger Christian
Wegger Christian Strommen, who was born on June 14, 1959, in Larvik, Norway, has been ambassador to the US since October 2007. Strommen has a distinguished career in the Norwegian Foreign Service including positions as Deputy Foreign Minister and representing Norway in the United Nations Security Council. He has also practiced law as a judge and as an attorney. He earned his Master’s of Law from the University of Oslo Law School in 1984, and joined the Norwegian Foreign Service the same year. From 1984 to 1986, he worked in the Legal Department at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then served as a Junior District Court Judge in Mysen, Norway, from 1986 to 1987. Returning to the Foreign Ministry in 1988, he served at the Norwegian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, from 1988 to 1991, and from 1993 to 1995 as Legal Advisor to Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg, the Co-Chairmen of the European Union/United Nations International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia. From 1995 to 1996, he was Head of the Legal Department in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then left government to practice law from 1996 to 1998. He returned to the Foreign Ministry in 1998 as a special advisor, and then served as a Deputy Foreign Minister from 1999 to 2000, and as Ambassador to the United Nations Security Council from 2000 to 2002. He came to the US in 2002 as ambassador to the United Nations, a post he held until 2005, when he was posted to Geneva as Norway’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN and other international organizations located there.
He has held appointments as Lecturer in International Law at Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, New York University School of Law, the University of Bergen, Norway, and the University of Oslo, Norway. He has published several articles on international law, constitutional law and human rights.
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- History of U.S. Relations with Norway
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- Ambassador to the U.S.
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U.S. Ambassador to Norway
White, Barry
Barry B. White, sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Norway on October 21, 2009, is another of President Barack Obama’s top fundraisers to receive a diplomatic post. A longtime attorney and business fixture in Boston, White has been involved in Massachusetts and national campaigns for Democratic presidential candidates, including those for Paul Tsongas and Bill Clinton.
White, 66, was educated at Harvard, receiving his undergraduate degree (1964), magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and his JD (1967) from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude. He was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
He briefly tried his hand at government work, serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Public Health Service from 1967-1969 in the legislative liaison office of the Surgeon General. But he found himself more interested in private law practice, and joined the firm of Foley, Hoag LLP.
Still there forty years later, White had become a senior partner at the firm. Before his appointment as ambassador to Norway, he spent the last 13 years serving as chairman and managing partner (in effect the CEO) of Foley, Hoag. His legal work has focused on technology business ventures, with extensive experience advising middle market corporations on merger and acquisition transactions and on issuing, refinancing and restructuring private and publicly held corporate debt.
Additionally, White served from 1994-1995 as chair of Lex Mundi, the world’s largest international association of independent law firms, and he co-founded the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation to provide free legal advice to social entrepreneurs around the world.
In Boston business circles, he has served as secretary and general counsel, as well as a member of the executive committee, for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and as a director of the Massachusetts Alliance for International Business.
White has been involved in Democratic politics in Massachusetts for many years. In 1992, he was chairman of the Paul Tsongas for President campaign, and later the New England Lawyers’ Committee for Clinton/Gore. The following year he was co-chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Platform Committee, and in 1996, he co-chaired the New England Lawyers’ Committee for Clinton/Gore. In addition, he has served on the finance committees of many Democratic senators and congressmen.
White was an early supporter of Barack Obama. In June 2007 he began organizing Massachusetts lawyers for ObamaAccording to OpenSecrets.org, White bundled between $100,000 and $200,000 for Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. Along with his wife, Eleanor, he has contributed more than $100,000 since 1989 to candidates, of which 98% has gone towards Democrats.
White’s other activities include involvement in the American Bar Association (Business Section and International Section), Edgewater Technology, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau (director), the Northeastern University School of Social Science, Public Policy and Urban Affairs, the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (president, 1993-1995), and Boston University’s Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Also, he served as counsel to the Massachusetts Special Commission on Business Tax Policy, and as counsel to a Special Commission on the Decennial Census.
White and his wife have three sons.
Barry B. White (Foley Hoag Profile)
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