The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister

Frederik Stang Frederik Stang (4 March 1808 – 8 June 1884) was a Norwegian lawyer, public servant, and politician who served as Norway's 1st prime minister in Christiana. Stang was born on the Nordre Rostad farm at Stokke in Vestfold, Norway. He was the so ...

. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the

Norwegian Ministry of Defence The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence ( no, Det kgl. Forsvarsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of th ...

authorized the organization for voluntary medical aid in war. The Norwegian Red Cross was one of the first national organizations in the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

. The organization now has 150,000 members and provides a variety of humanitarian services, including care for old and the infirm, prisoner visits, outdoor rescue, and international work.

Presidents

*1865–1880

*1880–1889

Christian August Selmer Christian August Selmer (16 November 1816 – 1 September 1889) was a Norwegian lawyer and a magistrate. He served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament, Minister of Defense and Minister of Justice. He was the 2nd prime minister of Norway ...

*1889–1905 Johan Fredrik Thaulow *1905–1908

Ernst Motzfeldt Ernst Motzfeldt (1 March 1842 – 10 June 1915) was a Norwegian member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm (''Norske statsråder i Stockholm'') 1893-1894 and Minister of Justice from 1894 to 1895 within the Second Cabinet of Prime ...

*1908–1912 Andreas Martin Seip *1912–1913 Christian Wilhelm Engel Bredal Olssøn *1913–1917

Hans Jørgen Darre-Jenssen Hans Jørgen Darre-Jenssen (22 June 1864 – 26 June 1950) was a Norwegian engineer and politician for the Free-minded Liberal Party. He was the Minister of Labour from 1910 to 1912, and thereafter served as director of the Norwegian State Ra ...

*1917–1922 Hieronymus Heyerdahl *1922–1930

Torolf Prytz Torolf Prytz (26 December 1858 – 16 June 1938) was a Norwegian architect, goldsmith and politician for the Liberal Party. He led the goldsmith company ''J. Tostrup'' of Oslo from 1890 to 1938, having inherited it from his grandfather-in-law ...

*1930–1940 Jens Meinich *1940–1945 Fridtjof Heyerdahl *1945–1947

Nikolai Nissen Paus Nikolai Nissen Paus (4 June 1877, in Christiania – 23 December 1956, in Tønsberg) was a Norwegian surgeon, hospital director and humanitarian. He served as President of the Norwegian Red Cross 1945–1947, and as Vice President 1930–1945 an ...

*1947–1957

Erling Steen Erling Steen (6 March 1891 – 22 September 1961) was a Norwegian businessman, humanitarian leader and member of the Norwegian resistance movement in World War II. Personal life Steen was born in Kristiania as a son of Johan Steen (1856–193 ...

*1957–1966 Ulf Styren *1966–1975 Torstein Dale *1975 '' Grethe Johnsen (acting)'' *1975–1981 Hans Høegh *1981–1987

Bjørn Egge Bjørn Egge CBE (19 August 1918 – 25 July 2007) was a Major General of the Norwegian Army and President of the Norwegian Red Cross (1981–1987). He served as deputy head of the NATO Defence College (1976–1980). Egge was a soldier during th ...

*1987–1993 Bjørn Bruland *1993–1998

Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg (14 April 1936 – 2 April 2020) was a Norway, Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party of Norway, Conservative Party, and a professor of medicine. She was the state secretary to the Minister of Social Affairs 1981 ...

*1998–2008

Thorvald Stoltenberg Thorvald Stoltenberg (8 July 1931 – 13 July 2018) was a Norwegian politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Defence from 1979 to 1981 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1989 and again from 1990 to 1993 in two Labour governmen ...

*2008–2018 Sven Mollekleiv *2018-2020

Robert Mood Lieutenant General Robert Mood (born 8 December 1958) is the President of Norwegian Red Cross and a retired Norwegian Army officer. He is the former head of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), Inspector General of the Norwegi ...

*Since 2020 Thor Inge Sveinsvoll

External links

English language website for Norwegian Red Cross
{{commons category, Norwegian Red Cross 1865 establishments in Norway Organizations established in 1865