A Journey to the High North
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and U.S. Ambassador Marc B. Nathanson, Oslo, Norway; May 2023
February 4, 2025
Originally Published in American Ambassadors Live
By Ambassador Marc B. Nathanson
Norway was a wonderful post for me and my wife, Jane. While it is the wealthiest country in Europe, its people — some of whom we now count as dear friends — are unpretentious, plain-spoken and deeply concerned about social and global issues. Though much of Norway’s wealth comes from oil and gas, the Norwegian government is strongly committed to environmental sustainability and is a leader in the transition to sources of green energy. Seventy percent of all vehicles in Norway are electric, and the country relies on hydropower for electricity. Norwegians also are acutely aware of the rapidly melting glaciers in the Arctic and the effect of this on the planet.
U.S. Ambassador Marc B. Nathanson and wife Jane Oslo, Norway
The United States and Norway enjoy a deep and unique relationship, one marked by shared values and a concern for the Norwegian border with Russia and military activities in the High North. Our relationships with the Nordic countries are warm, collaborative, and mutually supportive, yet they still need to be nurtured carefully. We must remain especially vigilant about the Arctic’s influence on global affairs.
In the nearly two years I served as ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, the Embassy Oslo team worked with key U.S. departments and nearly every branch of our military to cement our solid relationship with the Norwegians and to help allies around the world. None of our achievements — from a seed deposit to a prisoner exchange — would have been possible without the seventy U.S. Foreign Service professionals and two hundred Norwegian staff members working at the embassy with me. And, as a team, we developed partnerships with Norwegian officials, agencies, and organizations upon which future successes can be built. The following accomplishments highlight the spirit of friendship and collaboration in which we approach the region:
1. We assisted Roger Carstens, the U.S. Department of State’s Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, on August 1, 2024, with one of the United States’ largest prisoner exchanges since the Cold War.
2. We opened an American Presence Post (APP) in Tromsø, Norway. This new U.S. Embassy Oslo office in the Arctic is critical to long-range planning in the High North region where aggressive activity by Russia, China, and other countries must be closely monitored and addressed.
3. We negotiated a State Partnership Program Agreement between the Norwegian Home Guard and the Minnesota National Guard. Formal signing ceremonies in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Trondheim, Norway, featured Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Norway’s Queen Sonja.
4. We collaborated with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s administration to establish a five-year, multi-million-dollar military and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine. All of Norway’s major political parties supported this aid package.
5. We facilitated the annual purchase of nearly five billion dollars of American military equipment and worked with U.S. Embassy Oslo’s thirty-three military attachés to coordinate training efforts with the Norwegian Defense Forces.
6. We worked with Nicolai Tangen, the chief executive of the Norges Bank, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at $1.6 trillion, to invest in American companies and maintain a vibrant office in New York City.
7. We increased the number of student, scientific, business, and cultural exchanges between Norway and the United States to pre-COVID pandemic levels.
8. We supported Norway’s efforts to transition to the use of sustainable energy. The country now uses more wind energy and hydropower and is developing precious minerals. Also, Norway is a leading consumer of Tesla automobiles, which benefits the American economy.
9. We arranged for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to attend the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize forum and speak on a panel with the, then, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anniken Huitfeldt, to champion human rights, especially those of women, in Afghanistan.
U.S. Ambassador Marc B. Nathanson and U.S. Admiral Stuart Munsch; USS Gerald R. Ford; Oslo, Norway; May 2023
10. We collaborated with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S Coast Guard to welcome more than a hundred American military vessels to Norwegian ports. When the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, arrived in Oslo’s harbor for its maiden voyage, more than five hundred Norwegian dignitaries toured the ship and met with the crew.
11. We worked with the Norwegian Chief of Defense General Eirik Kristoffersen to facilitate the acceptance of Sweden and Finland into NATO. A visit to the Norway-Russia border with General Kristoffersen, Lieutenant General Vesa Virtanen of Finland, and the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces Per Micael Bydén highlighted the strength of NATO allies in the North to defend shared principles of democracy and the rule of law.
12. We partnered with Norway’s Minister of International Development, Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, and the U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy for Global Food Security, Dr. Cary Fowler, to jointly fund a U.S.-Norway initiative for new seed development in Africa.
13. We promoted interfaith understanding in Norway through visits to houses of worship and engagement with diverse religious communities and their faith leaders.
14. We worked with Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram to facilitate the signing of two Supplemental Defense Treaties between Norway and the United States.
U.S. Ambassador Marc B. Nathanson
Svalbard, Norway; October 2023
15. We delivered crucial seeds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard and visited the SATCOM large satellite receiving site.
16. We played a key role in two years of negotiations that resulted in U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide signing a U.S.-Norway memorandum of cooperation on critical minerals in Washington, D.C.
Also meaningful were meetings with youth leaders, government officials, mayors, members of the Royal Family, business leaders, journalists, civic leaders, Fulbright scholars, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, academics and students.
I am proud of all the embassy team accomplished in Norway during my tenure, but I recognize there is room for growth in all organizations. The U.S. Department of State is staffed by dedicated professionals but should update its processes for recruiting, evaluating, promoting, and retaining talent to continue this high level of professionalism. My forty years of experience as an entrepreneur have taught me that these challenges must be addressed aggressively for the department to continue to attract the best and brightest young men and women to its ranks. I encourage the Council of American Ambassadors to form a bipartisan task force to explore opportunities for improvement in this domain.
Further, the vetting process for ambassadors, particularly career ambassadors, can take a year or more. A more efficient process would permit incoming ambassadors to assume their posts without delay, ensuring that the United States has full-time representation in countries like Norway. This would strengthen diplomatic relations and enhance the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy.
Being the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway from 2022 to 2024 was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I take great pride in the significant achievements of not only the Embassy Oslo team, but also the successes of all dedicated members of the U.S. Department of State, who are the unsung heroes of our country’s global role as they quietly work to ensure the world remains stable and secure.
Ambassador Marc B. Nathanson served as U.S. Ambassador to Norway from 2022 to 2024. Ambassador Nathanson is chair of Mapleton Investments. Previously, he was co-chair of the Pacific Council on International Policy, vice chair of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and former Secretary of State Clinton’s representative to the East-West Center board of governors in Honolulu. Early in his career, Nathanson was the founder and CEO of Falcon Cable TV, and then vice chair of Charter Communications cable operator. He is an Aspen Institute trustee and a Council on Foreign Relations member.
Ambassador Nathanson is a member of the Council of American Ambassadors, and this article was originally written for American Ambassadors Review.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.
