Former US President Barack Obama was back in Oslo this week, during a stop on his latest public speaking tour that charged thousands of kroner for a single ticket. The next day he was also treated to lunch at King Harald V’s summer residence on Oslo’s Bygdøy peninsula.
It was Obama’s third official trip to Norway, where he’s met the monarch before. His first visit was back in 2009, less than a year after he’d moved into the White House and controversially won a Nobel Peace Prize. Critics claimed he hadn’t accomplished much yet, while the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee at the time, Thorbjørn Jagland, argued that Obama’s election raised new hopes. Obama itself called his Peace Prize “a call to action” at the time, and he ended up winning a second terms as US president.
Joining King Harald and Obama, who arrived at the king’s summer house under heavy security, were the king’s daughter-in-law Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. No details of their conversation were revealed, but Støre later told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that they “discussed the troubled situation in the world, the war in Ukraine and both the opportunities and challenges of using artificial intelligence.”
Støre added that they’d had a “good” and meaningful conversation while they ate locally produced food including small sandwiches with salmon smoked on the king’s estate and seasoned with herbs from his garden. Then came a tart with asparagus, also from the garden, and a small dessert with plums from its orchards.
Obama had filled the Oslo Spektrum arena the night before, during which he had spoken about the importance of justice, freedom of expression and education, all areas under severe pressure during the current US administration under President Donald Trump. It was Obama’s second visit to Oslo as a professional speaker, after an earlier one in 2018.
He once again praised the Scandinavian countries, after also visiting the chief of Norway’s huge sovereign wealth fund, Nicolai Tangen. A spokesperson at Norway’s central bank, which is responsible for the fund, said they discussed the world economy and “the general situation in the US,” both of which have suffered since Trump took over Obama’s former job.
Trump himself made it clear during a recent meeting with Støre at the White House that he’d also like to come to Norway and meet the king.
ALL PHOTOS: Ola Vatn/Det kongelige hoff/SMK
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
