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Norway

Crown Prince Haakon attends digital Veteran Conference

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway is attending the Norwegian National Veterans Conference this week in a conversation with veteran Thor Andreas Kårsten. The conversation is taking place at Akershus Fortress in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The Crown Prince and Kårsten will talk, among other things, about how the experiences from international operations can be used nationally, about intelligence as a subject and the tragic landslide in Gjerdrum last year.

Crown Prince Haakon is not often the interviewer, but in this case, he is. The Crown Prince chose to not talk much about himself and has been more concerned with hearing the story of the person being interviewed.

The Crown Prince thanked those serving in the armed forces and the veterans; His Royal Highness said: “I would like to thank everyone who has participated and is currently participating in international operations. To all our veterans, you have done and are doing an incredibly important job for all of us in society. Therefore, I wish to say that we all really appreciate it. “

This week, the National Veterans Conference kicks off. Over three days, the public can follow the digital broadcasts to the armed forces’ veteran service. The conference aims to highlight the veterans’ own stories and learn about how leaders in the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces view veteran care.

Distributed over the three days, the conference shows parts of a conversation Crown Prince Haakon had with veteran Thor Andreas Kårsten. In 2019, Kårsten was highly decorated for his efforts in international operations. Today, he is commander in the army and was responsible for coordinating the military effort during the landslide in Gjerdrum last year. The national veterans’ conference was originally supposed to be held in the autumn of 2020 but became a digital broadcast that lasts three days due to the global health situation.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.