May 16, 2014
STAVANGER (NORWAY): A senior Norwegian diplomat said his country's former ambassador to the US was given a verbal lashing by Obama's chief of staff when the president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.
Morten Wetland said on Thursday that the ambassador, Wegger Stroemmen, was approached by Rahm Emanuel, now Chicago's mayor, who accused Norway of "fawning" over the newly elected US leader.
May 16, 2014
STAVANGER (NORWAY): A senior Norwegian diplomat said his country's former ambassador to the US was given a verbal lashing by Obama's chief of staff when the president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.
Morten Wetland said on Thursday that the ambassador, Wegger Stroemmen, was approached by Rahm Emanuel, now Chicago's mayor, who accused Norway of "fawning" over the newly elected US leader.
Wetland, the Norwegian ambassador to the UN at the time, said he did not witness the dressing down but added that there was an air of embarrassment in Washington that Obama had been given the award so early in his presidency. "I think everyone wanted to know what motivated the (awarding) committee. But when I was going down to the UN in New York, nobody talked about it," he said. The decision to award the prize to Obama by the committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament was met with much criticism.
The panel cited Obama's efforts for a nuclear weapons-free world; for an engaged US role in fighting global warming; for UN support and for capturing the attention of the world and giving its people "hope".
Courtesy: AP
