The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian (Bokmål): ''Det kongelige utenriksdepartement'';

Norwegian (Nynorsk) Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-Nor ...

: ''Det kongelege utanriksdepartement'') is the

foreign ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

of the

Kingdom of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It was established on June 7, 1905, the same day the Parliament of Norway (Stortinget) decided to dissolve the

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with Sweden. The ministry is headed by

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

, currently Anniken Huitfeldt, who is a minister in the Støre cabinet that has governed since 14 October 2021. The ministry also has a

Minister of International Development An International development minister is a position in many governments responsible for development aid and international development. Country-related articles and lists *: Minister for International Development *: Minister of International D ...

. This position was established by the Willoch cabinet in 1983, and existed until October 2013 when it was abolished by the Solberg's Cabinet and the foreign minister became the sole head of the ministry. The position of Minister of International Development was restored on January 17, 2018, when the

Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

joined the Solberg government. The current Minister of International Development is Anne Beathe Tvinnereim from the Centre Party.

History

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established on the same day that Norway declared the dissolution of the union with Sweden: June 7, 1905. Although diplomats could not present credentials to foreign governments until the Swedish king formally renounced his right to the Norwegian throne, a number of unofficial representatives worked on the provisional government's behalf until the first Norwegian ambassador,

Hjalmar Christian Hauge Hjalmar () and Ingeborg () were a legendary Swedish duo. The male protagonist Hjalmar and his duel for Ingeborg figures in the '' Hervarar saga'' and in '' Orvar-Odd's saga'', as well as in ''Gesta Danorum'', ''Lay of Hyndla'' and a number of Far ...

, sought accreditation by the United States Secretary of State Elihu Root on November 6, 1905. The initial purposes of the newly formed Foreign Ministry were to represent Norway's interests through diplomatic channels, and to provide consular services for Norwegian shipping and commerce overseas. In 1906, the Storting decided to establish six embassies in Europe, with two more in the Americas: one in the United States and one in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. 20 consular offices were also opened. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the foreign ministry was confronted with unprecedented challenges in maintaining neutrality for Norway, in particular in order to protect its merchant fleet. In 1922, the ministry was consolidated and reorganised to ensure fuller cooperation between the diplomatic and consular branches. The reorganization included the formation of a designated career path for diplomats that included completion of a university entrance examination and professional experience from international trade. The economic hardship of the times forced austerity measures at the ministry for the next several years. When Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940, the government fled to the United Kingdom and reconstituted in exile in Bracknell, outside London. Kingston House in London was later used. The government moved back to Norway following the peace in 1945. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Norway was a founding member of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the United Nations, the latter having Norwegian

Trygve Lie Trygve Halvdan Lie ( , ; 16 July 1896 – 30 December 1968) was a Norwegian politician, labour leader, government official and author. He served as Norwegian foreign minister during the critical years of the Norwegian government in exile in Lond ...

as inaugural

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

. Norway was also part of the first slate of non-permanent members to the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

Organisation

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is organised with 110 foreign missions and three subordinate organisations:

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In matters regarding Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Norad reports to the Norwegian Ministry ...

(Norad), Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (Norec) and the development country investment fund

Norfund Norfund is a development finance institution established by the Norwegian Storting (parliament) in 1997 and owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The fund receives its investment capital from the state budget. Its head office is loca ...

. The Ministry and foreign missions have a total staff of approx. 2,400.

The Political level

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim * State Secretaries for Foreign Affairs Henrik Thune,

Eivind Vad Petersson Eivind is a Norwegian masculine given name of Norse origin, ''Auja-winduR''. It is made up of two parts: ''Auja'' meaning "lucky/gift", and ''winduR'' meaning "winner and/or warrior". The name ''Eivind'' is also used in Denmark and Sweden, and ...

(both Labour). * State Secretary for International Development Bjørg Sandkjær ( Centre Party) * Political Advisor Eirin Kristin Kjær (Labour) * Secretariat of the Minister of Foreign Affairs * Secretariat of the Minister of International Development * Foreign Service Control Unit * Communication Unit * Legal Adviser

The Operational level

Victoria Terrasse-14-09-02-oslo-RalfR-147

The top public servant is the Secretary General (utenriksråd) with an Assistant Secretary General as substitute (the latter also with a special responsibility for international development issues). The Ministry currently has nine departments, each headed by a Director General (known in Norwegian as ''ekspedisjonssjef'')Avdelinger i Utenriksdepartementet
Government of Norway * Department for European Affairs and International Trade * Department for Security Policy and the High North * Department for Regional Affairs * Department for Multilateral Affairs * Department for Sustainable Development * Department for Culture, Business Relations and Protocol * Legal Affairs Department * Human and Financial Resources Department * Services Department

Subsidiaries

(Norad) * Norec

References

External links

Official website of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (Norway) Foreign relations of Norway

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Foreign Affairs Ministries established in 1905 1905 establishments in Norway