Thursday, 16 February 2023, Oslo, The Royal Palace, Kingdom of Norway: Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz was granted an audience with His Majesty the King of Norway, Harald V. The governor is visiting Norway on the occasion of the NOREX collaboration. For 50 years, the Minnesota National Guard and the Home Guard in Norway have exchanged forces to learn from each other. The governor himself was on exchange in Norway during his time in the National Guard. NOREX is thus the name of the annual exchange between the Home Guard in Norway and the National Guard at Camp Ripley, Minnesota, USA, which has been ongoing for almost 50 years. The purpose of the exchange is to strengthen the already close political and military cooperation between the two countries.
A new agreement has now been signed which ensures the continuation of this important collaboration. Her Majesty Queen Sonja met with representatives of NOREX when she visited Minnesota in 2022, and was present when the new agreement was signed.
While in Norway, Governor Tim Walz today participated in the official State Partnership Program (SPP) signing ceremony in Trondheim, expanding the long-standing partnership between Minnesota and Norway’s militaries. Governor Walz also celebrated the jubilee of the Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange (NOREX) at the Archbishop’s Palace. Prior to the ceremony and celebration, Governor Walz met with members of the Minnesota National Guard and Norwegian Home Guard participating in the military exchange. Governor Walz was hosted by Queen Sonja of Norway and joined by United States Ambassador to Norway Marc Nathanson; Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau; Army Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, Army National Guard Director; and Army Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, Minnesota National Guard’s Adjutant General.
Governor Tim Walz (b. 1964) serves in the capacity as the fourty first Minnesota governor since January 7, 2019. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), an affiliate of the national Democratic Party.
For further information
Governor of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/governor/news/#/detail/appId/1/id/565410
