RON MCLEAN : HONORARY CONSUL OF NORWAY FOR THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA

Words by Susan A. Stibbe

Ron McLean says 99% of his work time is spent on being a lawyer and 1% being the Honorary Consul of Norway for the State of North Dakota. After visiting with him, it is apparent that the honorary consul job accounts for nearly 99% of his fun.

McLean grew up in Fargo and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and the University of North Dakota Law School. He joined the Serkland Law Firm of Fargo in 1975. He and his wife, Mona, have three adult children. He was appointed honorary consul in 1997.

According to McLean, after World War II, Norway determined that foreign services were needed to represent the Norwegian government and assist citizens who were living and traveling abroad. Norway chose to have consuls in states that have a high concentration of citizens with Norwegian ancestry. It is estimated that North Dakota has the highest of any state with 40% of all citizens having some Norwegian ancestry.

McLean’s duties include helping Norwegian citizens who need assistance while in North Dakota. This may mean finding them a lawyer if they run afoul of the law, contacting their family in Norway, and reporting to the Norwegian Embassy. He also assists Norwegian nationals with selling real estate in Norway and certifying signatures. When Norwegian nationals have babies in the United States, McLean helps them secure Social Security numbers from Norway to insure duel citizenship and coverage on Norwegian insurance. The Serkland offices are the official polling place for Norwegian elections and they have a designated cubical where nationals come to vote. Lisabeth Pladson is his assistant.

“I am responsible to be present whenever a member of the Norwegian royal family appears in public or has a social event in North Dakota and that is the real fun part of my job,” McLean said. “In 1938, Olav V spoke at Grand Forks to huge crowds. In fact, his grandson, Crown Prince Haakon, came to Grand Forks after the flood in June 1997 to speak to the people of the city that had shown his grandfather so much love 60 years before.”

Princess Märthe Louise visited North Dakota in 2005 and 2006 as a part of her book tour. The princess wrote a children’s book titled Why Kings and Queens Don’t Wear Crowns. She attended the Norsk Høstfest at Minot in 2005 and attracted huge crowds to her events. The Norsk Høstfest is the largest gathering of people with Scandinavian descent in the United States.

King Harald V is a special favorite of McLean’s. He met with the king in the summer of 2015 at the palace in Oslo. “He is very easy-going with a great sense of humor,” said McLean. “We were meeting during the Stanley Cup hockey playoffs and King Harald was very interested in the games. I asked him who his favorite player was and he responded the New York Rangers Mats Zucccarello – a Norwegian national. After all, he said tongue-in-cheek, Zuccarello is such a good Norwegian name!” Zuccarello’s mother is Norwegian and his father is of Sicilian descent.

Many Norwegian government officials have also visited North Dakota. Wegger Strømmen, the past Norwegian ambassador to the United States, has been to the Norsk Høstfest. “The last days of his visit, he drove around central North Dakota, knocking on doors and looking for relatives,” said McLean.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food, Sylvi Listhaug, visited Minot in September of 2015.

“No question,” he continued, “the Norwegian leaders know their strongest ties are in the Upper Midwest and the state of Washington and that’s where they like to visit.”

“I am proud of Norway and the role that country played in World War II. They had a tremendous resistance force against Hitler and the Nazis. Gunnar Sønsteby was their greatest hero, who blew up train stations and would do anything to cause trouble for Hitler’s troops. While he was living, if he entered a restaurant in Oslo, every Norwegian stood up, as a hero was in their presence. He visited twice.” said McLean.

“After World War II, Norway stood vigilant against the Soviet Union, tracking all Soviet subs heading into the North Atlantic and reporting to the United States,” he continued. “Norway supported the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan and is helping train the Kurdish Army today. It is a wonderful country with wonderful people.”

Honorary Consul Ron McLean is a wonderful area representative for Norway here in North Dakota. And we are very proud of him! [AWM]