A year of celebrations in Norway on what would have been the 150th birthday of Fridtjof Nansen culminated in events today, his birthday. TM King Harald and Queen Sonja along with TRH Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were on hand at the University of Oslo and Akershus Castle to celebrate the life of the Norwegian legend. Events at the University included seminars and speeches all day about Nansen for both children and adults. Then in the evening an official dinner was held at Akershus Castle in his honor. The events attracted royalty, politicians, Norway’s Prime Minister, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Fridtjof Nansen is probably most remembered as an explorer, but he was also a scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Nansen served in the League of Nations (the precursor to the UN) as the League's High Commissioner for Refugees. He worked to help displaced people after World War I and brought attention to global issues such as famine and poverty. It was his tireless work on these issues that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922. But on top of the work in the League of Nations, the explorer Nansen skied over Greenland in 1888 and ended up traveling further north than anyone before him. As if that wasn’t enough, he also is a key figure in Norway’s independence having been a key diplomat in advocating for the country as a sovereign nation and as a monarchy. Fridtjof Nansen died in 1930 and was given a state funeral.
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Sources: Views and News from Norway, wikipedia.org
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