His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway

"Norway and the United States, an Enduring Relationship"

I am very pleased to be able to address you here today, on the first morning of a two-week journey across the United States. For me, this trip marks the end of three years of university studies here in California. I chose my place of study very consciously, following a pattern laid down by my father and grandfather of complementing a military education with an academic one. Needless to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. Three years of living in Berkeley have helped me to develop a perspective on both the United States and Norway, not to mention on life in general, that would otherwise have been unattainable. When I return to Norway, the education I have received here, and countless memories, will remain with me.

For the first Norwegians who came to the United States, the outlook was very different. I am not now referring to the daring seafaring Norsemen of the past. We know little of their real motives, only that sometime around the year 1000, they landed on the shores of Canada and founded a village that has been excavated by modern archeologists as the factual proof underlying the account in the Saga of Leiv Eriksson and Vinland. Their presence on the American continent was a short-lived one, however. No, I am thinking of the 52 Norwegians who embarked on the sloop Restauration on the 4th of July, 1825, seeking a new life across the sea and knowing that they would probably never see their native country again. Not as thrilling to the imagination as the Vikings, perhaps, but these first emigrants must indeed have been very courageous and strong people.

Between 1825 and 1930, close to 900,000 Norwegians crossed the ocean - a third of Norway’s population! Only from Ireland did a larger percentage of the population emigrate to the U.S. The reason for the move was quite obvious: a sharp rise in population coupled with very limited tillable land and the prospect of a new beginning in the lush prairies of North America. The Norwegian emigrants concentrated their settlement in the Midwest, attracted by the wonderful farming opportunities, and were not deterred by severe winter storms. Today, this is still where most Americans of Norwegian descent live. But along with demographic developments in the U.S. at large, the Norwegian-Americans have changed as well, and today many of them have chosen California as the new land of promise. In all, there are between 5 and 6 million of Norwegian ancestry, representing hundreds of thousands of personal, traditional and emotional bonds between our two countries. This constitutes a very important foundation for our bilateral relationship, which I myself have witnessed on numerous occasions while living here.

Americans and Norwegians today have so much in common - historically, culturally, economically, even philosophically. Above all, we share a strong belief in democracy and human rights. Our kinship in traditions and values is evident in similarities between the Norwegian Constitution of 1814 and your Declaration of Independence a generation earlier. In fact, when Norway’s founding fathers hammered out the constitutional basis for an independent state, it was natural to look to ideas expressed in Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of 1776 and in the US Constitution of 1787. Consequently, our Constitution draws heavily on your. Although some aspects of the Constitution have evolved over the years, the core principles remain the same, as testimony to the lucidity of your predecessors.

In 1905, Norway regained full independence. My great-grandfather Haakon, until then Prince Carl of Denmark, was chosen to be King of Norway by referendum. And it bears mentioning that the United States was the first country with whom Norway established diplomatic relations.

America and Norway have in common a fundamental respect for the dignity, political liberty and social responsibility of the individual. We remain confident that there is no better way to organize a country than to maintain a well-functioning economy and to respect the political prerogative and basic human rights of each individual.

The bonds between the United States and Norway were strengthened by the cataclysm of World War II. It cannot be said too often that countrymen will never forget the role the United States played in our survival and liberation from the grip of fascism. On a personal level, President Roosevelt most generously saw to it that my grandmother Crown Princess Martha and her three children, among them my three-year-old father, had a safe home in the United States for the duration of the war, while the King and Crown Prince led the government in exile from London. During the five dark years of Nazi occupation, the King in exile, representing the Constitution and the rule of law, again served as a visible political beacon as Norway struggled to regain its freedom. My father, who was eight years old before he could return to Norway, still remembers standing behind President Roosevelt when he was sworn in for his fourth term.

The free world’s debt to the United States did not end with the defeat of the Axis powers. Having learned the hard lessons of history, America ensured the reconstruction and rehabilitation of war-torn allies and adversaries alike through the Marshall Plan, one of the finest and most visionary policies in the history of foreign affairs. For Norwegians, the five years of war and German occupation will always be regarded as a critical period when our commitment to democratic values was put to the ultimate test. Fortunately, with our allies, we prevailed. Today we remain profoundly grateful to all those Americans who supported our cause, and proud of our countrymen who served. These include the thousands of Norwegian seamen who confronted danger at sea in order to deliver the supplies, equipment and personnel necessary to win the war.

In 1949, when the Cold War had started, Norway, with its strategic position, became one of the founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Over the last decade, we have witnessed the breakdown of the Soviet Union the re-emergence of old states and the emergence of new ones. We have witnessed the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. The military structure and roles of NATO today are fundamentally different than they were during the Cold War period. A new European security architecture is evolving through the (interlocking) effort of a number of major European and Euro-Atlantic organizations. Transatlantic solidarity, and the firm commitment of the United States to our common security within the NATO framework, remain, however, issues of greatest importance to Norway in Europe’s new security environment.

At the 50th anniversary celebration of NATO in Washington, D.C. on 23 -24 April, the leaders of the Alliance confirmed that the 19 members stand firmly united on all major issues confronting NATO at the end of this millennium.

Our mutual objective is greater security and stability in Europe as a whole. The importance of this has been most dramatically highlighted in recent weeks. For the first time in its existence, the Alliance is engaged in active military action. The aim of the military action by NATO in Kosovo is to pave the way for lasting peace and security in the region.

Russia is a major factor in all considerations about the future of Europe. We must do our utmost to support the democratic forces in that country. With the aim of stimulating cooperation between Russia and the West in the fields of trade, economic development and cultural and environmental affairs, Norway has initiated a broad venture in the north - under the auspices of the so-called Barents Council of foreign ministers and the Barents Regional Council of regional leaders. This collaborative effort includes Russia and all the Nordic countries, while the United States and the European Union nations participate as observers. We have seized the opportunity to forge new relations by building new networks of schools, civic organizations, business and municipalities. Although there is still much to be done, people on both sides of the border between Norway and Russia already feel the positive impact of the new networks.

Norway, like the United States, was among the founding members of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947. We have since participated in all subsequent efforts to strengthen GATT and its successor the World Trade Organization (the WTO), and to open markets globally. Around 10 per cent of our exports go to the U.S. and Canada, and the U.S. is our most important shipping and oil customer. The bulk of our exports to the US is made up of oil, gas, metals and fish, amounting to a total of 2.7 billion dollars in 1997. In comparison, Norway ranks forty-seventh for U.S. exports, with cars and computers as major export articles. Our trade is basically in balance. U.S. investment in Norway amounts to 5 billion dollars, by far the largest share of foreign investments in Norway.

To conclude this tour of our bilateral relations, I would like to emphasize that ours, as all good relations, are based on knowledge and understanding. As far as I can tell, there is favorable and positive interest in Norway on the part of the American public, but this interest can be strengthened, and knowledge can be increased. Being in a very forward-looking and well informed state, I feel I should not leave you without mentioning that the Norwegian Information Services and our Embassy in Washington D.C. host an excellent homepage on the Internet (www.norway.org), where a wide range of information and contacts are available. So although my speech stops here, you have a good opportunity to learn more.

Thank you very much for your attention.