Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt visited Luther College to give a lecture on foreign policy on Saturday, September 23.
During the lecture she gave in the Jenson Noble Recital Hall, Huitfeldt emphasized that the connections made years ago between Decorah and Norway are still strong. Huitfeldt outlined the importance of Luther being the first college founded by Norwegian immigrants and emphasized the value of education. Huitfeldt positioned sustainability as a primary goal of Norwegian foreign policy and the continued importance of trust between nations.
“The United States is Norway’s most important economic partner outside Europe,” Huitfeldt said. “The green shift will create, in my opinion, opportunities and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Huitfeldt listed offshore wind, zero-emission transport and carbon capture technology as economic opportunities that are being made possible by the green shift— the term used to describe the global, cooperative switch to sustainable energy.
Huitfeldt also reiterated the importance of supplying aid to the Ukrainian war effort against Russia and was adamant about ensuring Norway’s continuing efforts to promote individual rights and democratic rule in Ukraine and all other countries. Huitfeldt expressed in her speech that despite the fact that dictators like Vladimir Putin scare populations into submission, Norway is confident that Putin will be defeated.
“Democracies [have] proved resilient,” Huitfeldt said. “[It is] not because democracies are flawless or particularly efficient, but because the alternatives to democracy are much worse.”
Thea Bentley (‘26), a student who attended the lecture, attended a similar event last year in which members of the Norwegian government visited Luther. Members of the Norwegian parliament, Lene Vågslid and Helge André Njåstad, gave talks about local government and housing policies, but touched on Ukraine and climate change as well. Bentley was driven to go to the lecture this year because of her positive past experience.
“I think it was really cool to see the difference between how the United States runs their government and how Norway runs theirs,” said Bentley. “In Norway, parties play a bigger role in parliament than in the U.S. Congress.”
Notably, Huitfeldt’s visit to Luther happened amidst a political controversy in Norway, in which Huitfeldt and former Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg are being accused of alleged insider trading. According to the Associated Press (AP), Huitfeldt and Solberg’s respective husbands had each made share deals that would potentially show bias in each woman’s political decisions. In particular, Huitfeldt is being accused of making decisions in office that benefit the companies her husband traded shares in. She has publicly denied the accusations and made no mention of the controversy at Luther.
After her lecture, Huitfeldt traveled to the Vesterheim Museum, where she briefly observed the exhibits and cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of a new addition to the museum, the Vesterheim Commons, which provides a space for museum-goers to enhance their experience through community and conversation. After visiting Decorah, Huitfeldt traveled back to Oslo to speak at a meeting on humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
