Norway threatens to close consulate in Minnesota

They tried it once already and failed.

Now, six years after government leaders in Norway toyed with the idea of closing the country's consulate office in Minneapolis -- the epicenter of Norwegian immigration in the United States -- they are considering trying it again.

Uff da!

Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended cutting four staff members in Minneapolis and downgrading the consulate to "honorary" status.

That isn't sitting well with some area Norwegian-American leaders. Just as they did in 2001, they are beginning a lobbying campaign to save the full-fledged consulate, unwilling to let it close without a fight.

"The blood of the normally stoic Norwegians has risen and is now boiling," wrote Jeff Mueller, president of the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce's Upper Midwest chapter.

In a letter to members of the Norwegian Parliament, which will make the final decision on the matter, Mueller cited upcoming trade missions and collaborative efforts between the University of Minnesota and a school in Norway, among other connections.

Mueller and others are hopeful that their campaign to stop the consulate closure will be successful, as it was last time, when a delegation of prominent Minnesotans went to Norway to lobby, he said.

They have a lot of points to argue in their favor.

Minnesota has about 850,000 people with a Norwegian heritage -- more than any other state, both Mueller and Rolf Hansen, the Minneapolis consul general, pointed out.

"It is said," Mueller wrote in the letter, "that Minnesotans are more Norwegian than Norwegians."

Move to China, Spain planned

The office serves nine states, including North Dakota - the state with the highest percentage of Norwegians, Mueller said -- and others, including Wisconsin, South Dakota and Iowa.

The proposal in Norway is to downgrade consulate offices in Minnesota and Edinburgh, Scotland, and to open new consulate offices in China, where trade is increasingly important, and southern Spain, where many Norwegians are now wintering, Hansen said.

Other Norwegian consulate offices in the United States would be unaffected under the proposal. Besides an embassy in Washington, D.C., Norway has consulates general offices in New York, San Francisco and Houston, Hansen said.

Houston?

"Houston is a fairly new consulate general, and it's mainly serving a great number of Norwegian companies and business going on in the oil and gas industry," Hansen said. "Norway has a strong presence because of that."

Besides assisting with visas and travel documents, Hansen said, he and other staff members promote business and academic cooperation, as well as share information about Norwegian society, policy and culture.

"Anyone, of course, who is in a post like this, we think we do useful work," Hansen said. "There are very long, well-established relations between Norway and the Midwest, obviously, because of all the immigration from Norway."

'We ... are most chagrined'

In his letter, Mueller hints that he believes it's not a purely economic move. Relations between Oslo and Washington are "cool" he wrote, but he believes it will pass.

"Please do not use this as a political way of retaliating against Washington. Minnesotans and Norwegians are similar in so many ways, especially in our common values relating to the environment, health care, energy conservation and world peace," Mueller wrote. "When you have a solid and reliable ally, such as Minnesota, that ally is worth keeping."

The thought of the office closing is "very disturbing," said Rebecca Jorgenson Larsen, executive director of Norway House, a Twin Cities nonprofit that acts as a bridge between the United States and contemporary Norway.

The group is preparing 5,000 postcards to take to Norsk Hostfest, a festival going on in Minot, N.D., so people can share their displeasure about the proposal with the Norwegian government.

"Having an actual consulate here is vital to maintaining the business, cultural and heritage ties that we have with Norway," Norway House Board President Jim Erickson said. "We all think it's critical and are most chagrined ... that the ministry would recommend closing it."

Pam Louwagie • 612-673-1702

Pam Louwagie • plouwagie@startribune.com