The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by

King Olav V Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wa ...

in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens living abroad,

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

diplomats, foreign civil servants in Norway, and Norway's honorary consuls for "outstanding service in the interests of Norway". Its counterpart, the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, is generally only awarded to Norwegian citizens living in Norway.

Structure and insignia

The reigning monarch,

King Harald V Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line of succ ...

, is the Grand Master of the Order. The order has five grades: Grand Cross, Commander (which is further subdivided into Commander with Star and Commander), and Knight (which is further subdivided into Knight 1st Class and Knight).According to Norwegian denomination The Order is characterized by a ribbon of deep blue moiré. The Grand Cross is worn on a broad sash that hangs over the right shoulder. The Commander's Cross is worn around the neck on ribbon of the Order. The Knight's Cross is worn over the left breast on a ribbon. Women wear both the Commander's Cross and the Knight's Cross over the left breast on a ribbon of the Order that has been fashioned into a bow. Unlike the Order of St. Olav, the insignia of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit are the property of the recipient.

Conferment

Applications are submitted through the Protocol Department of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The King receives the applications and confers the Order based on the council of the Lord Chamberlain of the Court, the Chief Protocol of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Head of Chancery of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.

Recipients

;Grand Crosses * HRH

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(2003) * HRH Princess Claire of Belgium (2003 * HRH Prince Laurent of Belgium (2003) * HRH Prince Lorenz of Belgium (2003) * HRH

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(2000) * HRH Princess Rym al-Ali (2020) * HRH Princess Alia bint Hussein (2000) * HRH Princess Zein bint Hussein (2000) * HRH Prince Talal bin Muhammad (2000) * HRH Princess Ghida Talal (2000) * HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad (2020) * Juan M.Ortiz de Rozas (2016) * Gabriele Albertini *

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* Armand De Decker *

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* Jenni Haukio * Yousef Huneiti (2020) * Toomas Hendrik Ilves *

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* Kim Jung-sook * Ben Knapen (2021) *

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* Thomas A. Loftus *

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* Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva *

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* John D. Ong * Christian Poncelet * Omar Razzaz (2020) * Eliza Reid *

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(2020) * Franz Schausberger *

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(2020) *

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(2023) *

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;Commanders with Star * Keith B. Alexander * Grażyna Bernatowicz * Micael Bydén * Sverker Göranson * Fred Kavli * Franklin Miller * Riho Terras * Volker Wieker *

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* Haakon Baardsøn Hjelde *

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* Lars-Emil Johansen * Krzysztof Krajewski * Irena Lichnerowicz-Augustyn * Klaus Naumann * Fred H. Nomme * Arild Retvedt Øyen * Jan Paulsen * Svein Sevje * Ingebjørg Støfring *

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* Yury Yevdokimov ;Knights * Brian Bell (businessman) * Lisa Campbell (1994) * Jostein Helge Bernhardsen * Martin Tore Bjørndal * Sissel Birgitte Breie * Finn Kristen Fostervoll * Gary L. Gandrud (honorary consul general) * Stephen E. Harding * Thorir Hergeirsson * Charles Letts * Odd S. Lovoll * Sverre Lyngstad * Tiina Nunnally (2013) * John Jason Pantages *

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* Didrik Tønseth (diplomat) * Sjur Torgersen * Heiko Uecker * Jarka Vrbová * Jon Westborg * Bernard Loew * Ronald Stubbings (1999) ;Unknown Classes *

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* Dinna Bjørn * Rut Brandt * Ingvard Havnen * Graham John Hills * Wilhelmina Holladay *

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* Carl Epting Mundy Jr. * Kathie L. Olsen * Oda Sletnes

References

{{reflist

External links

The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
Website of the Royal Court

(in Norwegian) Website of the Royal Court Orders, decorations, and medals of Norway Merit (Norway), Royal Norwegian Order of 1985 establishments in Norway

Structure and insignia

Conferment

Recipients

See also

References

External links