BILL CARROLL
Special to The Jewish News

Oslo

D

Ambassador David Hermelin
makes the transition om real
estate developer to diplomat in
his first year in Norway.

avid Hermelin has an
answer ready when
friends ask him if, as
U.S. ambassador to
Norway, he has learned how to eat
sardines and salmon. No, he tells
them, "but I'm teaching the
Norwegians how to eat salami and
corned beef."
The statement is vintage
Hermelin, who has held on to his
style and his sense of humor over
the last 10 months as he switched
from being a bustling businessman
in Detroit to being his country's
chief representative in Oslo.
Instead of working on his own real
estate and development portfolio,
he is taking care of U.S. interests
in a country of more than four
millio'n people — about half a mil-
lion more people than live in the
Detroit metro area — inside
125,000 square miles a
world awa

.44

454or:

Below: Ambassador and Mrs. Hermelin show
off their Norwegian woolen sweaters at the
ambassador's residence.

Right: Ready for a small sit-down dinner.

11/20
1998

40 Detroit Jewish News

=

14 :

European capitals like
Copenhagen, Brussels and the not-
so-exotic — Ljubljana in Slovenia,
for example — for economic ses-
sions and commercial discussions.
But, he says, "the majority of my
trips have been to places in
Norway to get to know the coun-
try and meet the people."
Norway buys a range of
American military supplies, run-
ning from planes to technical
equipment, and the U.S. buys
Norwegian oil. "All of the large
U.S. oil companies have significant
financial investments in Norway,"
he said, "and I have been doing my
best to continue to foster these
trade relations."
"Trade relations between the
U.S. and Norway have always been
excellent, and trade continued to -
improve over the past year."
Business he already knew, but
he also has had to develop some
new competencies, such as worry-
ing about individuals andlk •