Delegates of the Norsk Museum in La Salle County met Masud Gharahkhani, the president of the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget), along with other dignitaries July 5.
The Norwegian government was in Chicago for business meetings for several days before traveling to Minnesota. A meet-and-greet was scheduled at the Geneva Library, organized by the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce Chicago branch and Friends of the Viking Ship.
Gharahkhani came to Norway as a refugee from Iran with his family in 1987. He got involved with his adopted country right away and eventually rose to president of parliament, second only to the king.
In his speech, he shared the history about the bicentennial coming up. After the Sloopers came to Norway, Illinois, the great migration began, and 800,000 more people left for America. Today, Norway has a population of 5 million people, while America has another 5 million people who share Norwegian ancestry.
After introductions, the Norwegian president jokingly said that they would talk to each other through “speed dating” sessions. There were two reserved seats at each of the tables in the room. The delegation split up at separate tables and, after five minutes, they’d move around to a different table.
Along with meeting the president, the Norsk Museum group got to meet one-on-one with the Chicago consulate general, the office of the Norway ambassador in Washington and the Norwegian Parliament international relations director.
The Norsk Museum invited each representative to visit Norway, Illinois, and provided brochures. The group sent a personal invitation to the Crown Prince to visit during the bicentennial celebration in 2025, but the emphasis will be on New York City and the arrival of the Sloop restoration. Representatives of the Norsk Museum in attendance were David Johnson, Richard and Sheila Gunderson, and Arthur and Nancy Andersen.