As his tenure draws to a close, Norway’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic talks about the Middle East, Czech progress, and a passion for casting his net across the country’s meadows.

Your Excellency; please tell us about your background, your law studies, your family, and life with Inger. Were warmth and a beautiful tan promised as a condition of marriage?

The warmth and tan was easy, since it has been supplied by our choice of postings (never too far away from the equator). All this has been contrary to my upbringing by parents who, despite their own careers, warned against a life of foreign service. I was born in war-time London where they worked for the Norwegian government in exile. We moved a lot — to Belgium and Spain where I developed a penchant for Tintin and Real Madrid. I completed my law studies at Oslo University in 1969 and started out as a banker and a judge. My very first diplomatic post was Hong Kong in 1975, which I liked very much, especially the off time.

Your expertise in Arab affairs has been recognized by your work within the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and varied Middle East postings. What’s behind your interest in the region?

I got those postings mostly because nobody else was all that keen, which boded well for us (see wife’s tan above) and for my butterfly-collecting hobby. After Hong Kong I put in for Europe and got Cairo instead. Norway then opened a “field” embassy in Beirut in 1981, due to the sudden presence of a thousand Norwegian soldiers along the Libano-Israeli border. I got that posting (the butterfly hunting there beats Egypt) for a couple of years, was then hauled back home and bored stiff in the legal department until two years later a position came up in post-revolutionary Tehran. Nobody queued up for it — I met my wife there at the embassy.

Did you apply your legal training in the Middle East or here in the Czech Republic? Any noteworthy contrasts between the two regions, vis a vis legal structures?

Law is useful absolutely everywhere as a problem-solving method in general. The problems may vary, but the method works with all of them. In 1990, for instance, Mr. Saddam Hussein saw fit to grab Kuwait and take a lot of Western hostages into the bargain, including close to 60 Norwegians. Our ambassador to Iraq had a heart attack and I was sent there in a rush to get the hostages out. As for contrasts, the Czech Republic now belongs to a peaceful part of the world that’s vastly different from nearly all of the Middle East where occasional bombings spices up desert life.

There have been other assignments — and personal challenges — in equally diverse climes. Please discuss.

In 1994 I was given my first assignment as ambassador in Buenos Aires, a real change, but the butterflies were numerous. I also covered all the — ays: Uruguay, Paraguay, and Boliviay (easy to remember), and traveled extensively in South America. In late 2001, after a stint back in the Ministry bogs, fate looked benignly at me and suddenly Norway needed an instant embassy in Kabul. Short assignment there, then back to the Ministry where they secretly had plotted to hand me Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], making my wife unhappy (ladies can’t drive there, you know, and she values her freedom). So it was a lonely couple of years.

How has your work in the more temperate climate of Prague varied, both in objectives and results?

I arrived in Prague in 2004, my first European posting (not counting my time as a NATO corporal in Paris in 1963—1964). It was a considerable change from the Middle East, different climate, different job priorities, but quite good Lepidoptera. Since Norway does not belong to the European Union the embassy spends a lot of time lobbying for our interests in its 27 capitals. The EU is a colossal labyrinth and one doesn’t have the same sense of personal achievement as in more distant countries. On the other hand we have some good cards — we supply, for instance, the Czech Republic with about a fourth of its gas needs.

Are there unresolved issues that you had hoped to settle?

I am happy to state that there are no problems between Norway and the Czech Republic. The Czechs would like to buy some more gas and we would like to sell other products on top of that, especially salmon. But the Czechs still seem to feel that carp is piscatory sacrifice enough. (But they’ll change). Our problems with the EU at large are of the surmountable kind and mostly come from our decision not to join the club. We have a comprehensive agreement, called the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement, which almost makes us members.

The EEA and Norway Grants substantially impacted this country, especially in the area of medicine. How will the Czech Republic benefit from them for years to come?

That agreement makes funds available to newer EU members, including this country. The total sum for the period 2004—2009 is around € 1.2 billion, of which slightly less than ten per cent, about € 110M, has been allocated to the Czechs. We’ve had excellent co-operation with the Ministry of Finance, and it seems that at least 99 per cent will be used toward a number of smaller projects in areas like environmental issues, cultural heritage, health, the judiciary, transfer of know-how, and so on. Many good projects have been turned down due to lack of funds, but a similar agreement is being completed right now and many will, hopefully, have a second chance. These funds have put Norway on the Czech map, so to speak.

Any plans to introduce the extraordinary successes of Statkraft [Europe’s largest renewable energy company] here, helping this country develop similar resources?

I don’t know to what extent we can assist with renewable resources here. Statkraft is based on differing historical and geographical realities. Norway consists mainly of mountains made out of hard rock, and has copious rain and snowfall every year. We are practically self-sufficient for our electricity needs through hydropower. This includes high-energy-consuming industries like metal shops and ore refineries.

In addition, we’ve large deposits of oil and gas offshore. The rivers in the Czech Republic can’t give much more electricity. Tidal and wave power is out. Wind power can be utilised, but other countries dominate this field technologically. We will do some pioneering in offshore windmill farms or solar power production but the development of “clean” use of brown coal and modern, safe, and efficient nuclear stations is the best bet for the Czechs. But considerable investment must be found and resistance from environmentalists must be overcome. And, when you run out of uranium, Norway has a lot of thorium…

What potential contributions can the Czech Republic make to Norway and Europe, which are currently undeveloped or not fully realized?

EU membership has already made the Czechs better off and that will in itself result in increased contact, trade, tourism. This is also the rationale behind the EEA funds. Opportunities will no doubt appear that will benefit both economies. Our biggest investor here is the so-called Norwegian oil (or pension) fund, but you don’t exactly see it splashed on the front pages.

Favorite place outside of Prague and why? Favorite place in Prague? What do you and Inger enjoy doing together when alone in Prague (outside the residence)?

This could easily become indiscreet. My best places outside Prague are isolated hilltops, valleys, and uncut meadows with lots of butterflies. My wife prefers castles, palaces, and other meccas of culture. She might like the Obecní Dům best of all. Together, we enjoy going to Norwegian-owned restaurants without Norwegian cooking.

What will you miss of daily life in Prague when you return to Norway? What will stay with you that you never experienced in your previous postings?

I won’t miss a thing. I never do. I don’t mean to be unkind, I’ve enjoyed my stay tremendously, but knew from the start that it would end after a maximum five years, as it now does, and I’m reconciled with that. My wife will miss the intense cultural life and all the friendships we’ve developed. She is under the misconception that in Norway culture is going to speed skating competitions and freezing your butt off, and that it’s hard to hang pictures in an igloo.

What’s next? Retirement doesn’t exactly seem like your cup of tea.

I take things as they come. I expected, at 66, to crawl into the cosy darkness of pension as per September, but a couple of days ago the Ministry called and begged me to take on another assignment which hopefully will involve travel to icky places where my net may have some work to do. Butterflies never seem to take sides in human conflicts. They are smarter than we think.

Peter Nicolay Ræder

Born: 20 August 1943
Cand. jur., University in Oslo
2004—2009 Ambassador to the Czech Republic
2002—2004 Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
2001—2002 Chargé d’affaires in Kabul
1999—2001 Regional adviser for Latin America, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Oslo
1994—1999 Ambassador to Argentina
1993—1994 Regional Adviser for Arab States, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Oslo
1993 Chargé d’affaires in Tehran
1991—1993 Regional Adviser for Afica and Arab States, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Oslo
1990 Chargé d’affaires in Bagdad
1989—1990 Head of Unit, Division of Justice, MinIstry of Foreign
Affairs, Oslo
1987—1989 Chargé d’affaires in Damaskus
1983—1987 Chargé d’affaires in Teheran
1981—1983 Senior Executive Officer, Minstry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo
1979—1981 First Secretary, Embassy in Beirut
1978—1979 First Secretary, Embassy in Kairo
1975—1978 Deputy Counsellor, Embassy in Hongkong