opinions
Arne O. Holm comments:
The King of The High North
Comment: The last municipality King Harald managed to visit was the ‘small’ municipality of Beiarn in Nordland. That meant that every municipality in Northern Norway had received a royal visit. “The fact that you come here to us makes us both proud and grateful, and gives us the feeling of being seen as a people and a community,” Mayor André Kristoffersen said in his greeting to the King.
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This is a comment written by a member of the editorial staff. All views expressed are the writer's own.
The King not only visited every municipality in Northern Norway – there are now 80 of them – he also highlighted the importance of the High North in a number of his speeches, including New Year speeches, speeches to the Storting and during state visits.
Above all, the King emphasised climate and research in the north, but also Northern Norway’s international importance. He spoke about the importance of peace with our neighbours in the north.
As far back as 2007, in a speech at the annual Storting dinner, the King’s message was that the High North initiative was about making the opportunities in the north visible and exploiting them in a long-term manner.
On several occasions, the King has stressed the value of dialogue in the High North, with dialogue and cooperation as prerequisites for resolving, among other things, climate issues.
He was a natural guest at the liberation anniversary for World War 2 in Finnmark, where, among other things, the King honoured the population for its efforts to rebuild after what he called the total destruction.
The last municipality King Harald visited was Beiarn in Nordland
At the time, he also met the Russian Foreign Minister. I myself was seated at the neighbouring table during the dinner, although the King’s official appeal for continued peaceful coexistence and cooperation cannot have made much impression.
Longyearbyen on Svalbard, which is not a municipality in its own right, received more visits than most municipalities. More than I have managed to count. It was therefore no surprise that he also visited in June last year, when the last Norwegian mine on Svalbard, Mine 7, was closed.
In a historic photograph, the King stands before around 30 miners in full gear inside Mine 7.
Later that same evening, everyone was invited to dinner.
Because he saw the miners, just as he saw the residents of Beiarn during his most recent municipal visit in the north. Just over 1,000 residents were seen and honoured on 9 June this year. That was just over two months ago.
I am writing this with a view of the Vesterålen mountains, where the Queen of Norway has spent many years hiking.
The need to be seen does not exist only in the north.
But the King should also be remembered because he saw us.
