Oct 30, 2007 2:06 pm US/Central
Moe To Lead Protest Of Norwegian Consulate Closing
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) ―
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The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to convert consulates in Minneapolis and Edinburgh, Scotland, to "honorary" status. (File)
AP
A protest delegation led by former state Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe hopes to travel to Norway next month to encourage the country to keep its consulate in Minneapolis.
Moe, of Erskine, said the group wants to meet with Jonas Gahr Store, Norway's foreign minister.
"It won't be a high-pressure thing," Moe told the Grand Forks Herald. "We understand that sometimes difficult decisions have to be made in government. We understand budgets. But we have a little trouble seeing where Norway (with its oil revenue) should have a budget problem with this."
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to convert consulates in Minneapolis and Edinburgh, Scotland, to "honorary" status while opening new consulates in China and Spain.
Besides Canada and Mexico, Norway is the only country that maintains consulates staffed by diplomats in the region.
So far, it appears Norway officials are not likely to change their decision. Minneapolis Consul General Rolf Hansen has said the final decision will be made by the Norwegian parliament as part of the budget, probably in early December.
Officials in Norway attempted to close the Minneapolis consulate once before, in 2001. Those plans were dropped after a letter-writing campaign by Norwegian-Americans.
"We just want the opportunity to tell the story, to reason with the government and persuade them to take another look," Moe said.
Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty, have urged Norway to keep its consulate open in Minneapolis, which was established in 1906. More than 800,000 Minnesota residents claim Norwegian ancestry.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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