the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
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The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens living abroad,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...
diplomats, foreign civil servants in Norway, and Norway's honorary consuls for "outstanding service in the interests of Norway". Its counterpart, the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, is generally only awarded to Norwegian citizens living in Norway.


Structure and insignia

The reigning monarch,
King Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...
, is the Grand Master of the Order. The order has five grades: Grand Cross, Commander (which is further subdivided into Commander with Star and Commander), and Knight (which is further subdivided into Knight 1st Class and Knight).According to Norwegian denomination The Order is characterized by a ribbon of deep blue moiré. The Grand Cross is worn on a broad sash that hangs over the right shoulder. The Commander's Cross is worn around the neck on ribbon of the Order. The Knight's Cross is worn over the left breast on a ribbon. Women wear both the Commander's Cross and the Knight's Cross over the left breast on a ribbon of the Order that has been fashioned into a bow. Unlike the Order of St. Olav, the insignia of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit are the property of the recipient.


Conferment

Applications are submitted through the Protocol Department of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The King receives the applications and confers the Order based on the council of the Lord Chamberlain of the Court, the Chief Protocol of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Head of Chancery of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.


Recipients

;Grand Crosses *
Gabriele Albertini Gabriele Albertini (born 6 July 1950 in Milan) is an Italian politician. Biography In 1974 he Graduated in Law from the University of Milan. He was the Manager of ''Albertini Cesare Spa'', a company working in the aluminium pressure die casting ...
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Princess Alia bint Hussein Princess Alia bint Hussein (born 13 February 1956) is the eldest child of King Hussein of Jordan. Her mother is his first wife, Sharifa Dina bint Abdul-Hamid. Education Princess Alia received her primary education in Amman, attending Ahliyyah ...
* Princess Astrid of Belgium * Juliana Awada *
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* Maria Cavaco Silva *
Princess Claire of Belgium Princess Claire of Belgium (born Claire Louise Coombs on 18 January 1974) is a British-Belgian land surveyor. She has been married to Prince Laurent since 2003 and is the sister-in-law of King Philippe of Belgium. Family She is the daughter ...
* Armand De Decker *
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* Werner Fasslabend * Jaime Gama * Princess Ghida Talal *
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* Jenni Haukio *
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Kim Jung-sook Kim Jung-sook ( ko, 김정숙; born 15 November 1954) is a South Korean classical singer who served as first lady of South Korea from 2017 to 2022, as the wife of the 12th president of South Korea Moon Jae-in. Overview Kim's parents ran ...
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Vytautas Landsbergis Vytautas Landsbergis (born 18 October 1932) is a Lithuanian politician and former Member of the European Parliament. He was the first Speaker of Reconstituent Seimas of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union. He has ...
* Prince Laurent of Belgium *
Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva (''née'' Casa; 7 April 1950 – 3 February 2017) was the wife of the 35th and 39th president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and First Lady of Brazil from 2003 to 2010. Lula's first wife, Maria de Lourdes d ...
* Prince Lorenz of Belgium *
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* John D. Ong *
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* Prince Talal bin Muhammad *
Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...
* Pieter van Vollenhoven *
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;Commanders with Star * Keith B. Alexander * Grażyna Bernatowicz *
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* Sverker Göranson *
Fred Kavli Fred Kavli (August 20, 1927 – November 21, 2013) was a Norwegian-American businessman and philanthropist. He was born on a small farm in Eresfjord, Norway. He founded the Kavlico Corporation, located in Moorpark, California. Under his l ...
*
Franklin Miller Franklin Carroll Miller (born 1950) is a foreign policy and nuclear defense policy expert. Miller served 31 years in the U.S. government, including the Department of State, the Department of Defense and a Special Assistant to President George W. ...
* Riho Terras * Volker Wieker ;Commanders *
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* Elżbieta Bieńkowska * Bjørn Olav Blokhus *
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* Kjell H. Halvorsen * John Hamre *
Helga Hernes Helga Marie Hernes (born 16 January 1938) is a German-born Norwegian political scientist, diplomat, and politician for the Labour Party. Educated in the United States, she moved to Norway following her marriage to Norwegian sociologist and po ...
* Haakon Baardsøn Hjelde *
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* Fred H. Nomme * Arild Retvedt Øyen *
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Svein Sevje Svein Reidar Sevje (born 29 October 1948) is a Norwegian diplomat, particularly known for his work in the Middle East. A few months after the Six Day war Sevje volunteered in the Israeli kibbutz of Mishmar HaEmek, and later joined a Hebrew school. ...
*
Conrad Swan Sir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan (13 May 1924–10 January 2019) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Having been first appointed to work at the College in 1962, he rose to the office of Garter Principal Kin ...
* Yury Yevdokimov ;Knights *
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* Martin Tore Bjørndal *
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*
Finn Kristen Fostervoll Finn Kristen Fostervoll (born 26 December 1939) is a Norwegian diplomat. He was a journalist from 1962 to 1969, and later studied political science, with his MA degree taken at Carleton University in 1972. He started working for the Norwegian Mini ...
*
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* Thorir Hergeirsson *
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Odd S. Lovoll Odd Sverre Lovoll (born October 6, 1934) is a Norwegian-American author, historian and educator. Background Odd Sverre Lovoll was born in Sande, in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He immigrated to the United States in 1946 and is a naturalized United S ...
* Sverre Lyngstad * John Jason Pantages *
Knut Ødegård Knut Ødegård (born 6 November 1945) is a Norwegian poet. Biography Born in 1945 in Molde, Norway, Ødegård made his poetic debut in 1967.''(Norwegian)'' http://www.cappelendamm.no/main/katalog.aspx?f=7543 Since then he has published m ...
* Didrik Tønseth (diplomat) *
Sjur Torgersen Sjur Helge Torgersen (12 March 1946 – 7 September 2005) was a Norwegian diplomat and ambassador. He was a cand.jur. (jurist) by education. After first serving as local magistrate in Mandal, Norway he joined the Norwegian Foreign Service in 1979, ...
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Heiko Uecker Heiko Uecker (5 September 1939 – 30 May 2019) was a German philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. He was Professor of Nordic Philology at the University of Bonn and a known expert on Scandinavian literature. Biography Heiko Uecker wa ...
* Jon Westborg ;Unknown Classes * Aqel Biltaji *
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* Rut Brandt *
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*
Graham John Hills Sir Graham Hills (9 April 1926 – 9 February 2014) was a physical chemist, principal of the University of Strathclyde, and a governor of the BBC. He was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and educated at Westcliff High School for Boys and Birkbe ...
* Wilhelmina Holladay * Stanisław Koziej *
Carl Epting Mundy Jr. Carl Epting Mundy Jr. (July 16, 1935 – April 2, 2014) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from July 1, 1991 until his retirement on ...
*
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* Oda Sletnes


See also

*
Orders, decorations, and medals of Norway This is a list of Norwegian orders and medals, in order of precedence. This list contains all medals approved for wearing on a Norwegian military uniform in ranked order. Group 1: Awarded by or approved by H.M. The King Those awards presented ...


References

{{reflist


External links


The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
Website of the Royal Court

(in Norwegian) Website of the Royal Court Merit (Norway), Royal Norwegian Order of 1985 establishments in Norway