The Embassy of the United States in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

is the diplomatic representation of the

federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

to the Kingdom of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. A new embassy was put into service in May 2017. The current Embassy is located in Morgedalsvegen 36, near the Makrellbekken Metro Station, in one of the city's western suburbs. Visitors to the embassy are encouraged to use public transport. Marc B. Nathanson served as the

United States ambassador to Norway The United States ambassador to Norway (formally the ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Norway) is the official representative of the President of the United States, president and the government of the United States of America to ...

from June 2022 to February 2024.

Norwegian-American diplomatic history

With the dissolution of

Sweden–Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway (; ), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign poli ...

in 1905, the US became one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Norway, that same year. During the Nazi German occupation of Norway in World War II, the United States had no diplomatic representation in Oslo, but the separate ambassador to Norway had diplomatic contact with the

Norwegian government-in-exile __NOTOC__ Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile) was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority governments that had dominated Norwegian p ...

in London. The Embassy was staffed again right after the war. The relationship between the United States and Norway is characterized by a long history as partners, friends and allies.

Architectural history

The former embassy chancery on Henrik Ibsens gate in downtown Oslo was designed by Finnish–American architect

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

, who also designed the American embassy in London and the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

in Saint Louis, Missouri. It was completed in 1959, four years after Saarinen was first selected for the project. The base of the building forms a horizontal triangle with a dark exterior, which lead to poor circulation and offices with abnormal shapes but also gave it a modern appeal and was well-suited for receptions. Physical security measures, including a fence surrounding the chancery, were added after the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

in the U.S. As of June 2016, some of the windows had the colors corresponding to those of the

Rainbow Flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. History In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...

to give recognition to

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New chancery

For several years, a site was searched for to clarify where a future embassy should be located. Locally it was debated whether it was appropriate when it was suggested to build such a large embassy in a former forest area, that would mean that the public were shut out. In December 2005, the Oslo City Council decided with the least possible majority that the embassy should be offered a new embassy area in Huseby Forest, not far from Makrellbekken subway station. On May 14, 2012, the

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

ceremony for an embassy at the new location was conducted in Oslo. The project has a particular focus on environmental features and is constructed b
Walsh Group
of Chicago and the architects/engineers are

EYP Architecture & Engineering EYP may refer to: *European Youth Parliament, commonly referred to as EYP *Hellenic National Intelligence Service (Greek: ) *El Alcaraván Airport, also known as ''El Yopal Airport'' - (IATA code EYP) *Export Yellow Pages *Early Years Professional ...

. The new embassy meets stricter requirements for security for US embassy buildings. It opened on May 15, 2017. The embassy at Makrellbekken in Oslo has achieved LEED Gold certification (

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

) for its numerous green elements. The embassy’s environmental features includes the restoration of a seasonal stream that runs through the site, green roofs, preservation of existing landscape, maximized use of natural light and a ground-source heat exchange.Embassy achieves LEED Gold for its green elements!
Website of the U.S. Embassy, Oslo

Embassy sections

*Consular Section **American Citizen Services **Visa Services *

United States Commercial Service The United States Commercial Service is an agency of the International Trade Administration under the United States Department of Commerce that assists United States businesses with exports and sales in foreign markets. Commercial Officers in ...

*Defense Attaché Office *

Foreign Agricultural Service The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is the United States Foreign Service#Foreign affairs agencies, foreign affairs agency with primary responsibility for the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) overseas programs – market develop ...

*Public Affairs *Office of Defense Cooperation *Regional Security Office (Diplomatic Security Service)

Trade unions

Embassies in Norway are not required to answer to

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s of its employees. The embassy does not negotiate with trade unions of its employees.

References

External links

Official site
*
The new embassy at Makrellbekken
*
Policy & history
Embassy website on the U.S. - Norway relationship
Norway

US department of state The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

Travel Advisery, Norway
US department of state

{{Diplomatic missions in Norway Diplomatic missions of the United States, Oslo

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

1905 establishments in Norway Eero Saarinen structures Norway–United States relations