# Royal Norwegian Order of Merit

The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden (Bokmål) or Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens living abroad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomats, foreign civil servants in Norway, and Norway's honorary consuls for "outstanding service in the interests of Norway". Its counterpart, the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, is generally only awarded to Norwegian citizens living in Norway.

## Structure and insignia

The reigning monarch, King Harald V, is the Grand Master of the Order. The order has five grades: Grand Cross, Commander (which is further subdivided into Commander with Star and Commander), and Knight (which is further subdivided into Knight 1st Class and Knight).
The Order is characterized by a ribbon of deep blue moiré. The Grand Cross is worn on a broad sash that hangs over the right shoulder. The Commander's Cross is worn around the neck on ribbon of the Order. The Knight's Cross is worn over the left breast on a ribbon. Women wear both the Commander's Cross and the Knight's Cross over the left breast on a ribbon of the Order that has been fashioned into a bow. Unlike the Order of St. Olav, the insignia of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit are the property of the recipient.

## Conferment

Applications are submitted through the Protocol Department of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The King receives the applications and confers the Order based on the council of the Lord Chamberlain of the Court, the Chief Protocol of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Head of Chancery of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.

## Recipients
### Grand Crosses

* HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium (2003)
* HRH Princess Claire of Belgium (2003
* HRH Prince Laurent of Belgium (2003)
* HRH Prince Lorenz of Belgium (2003)
* HRH Prince Ali bin Hussein (2000)
* HRH Princess Rym al-Ali (2020)
* HRH Princess Alia bint Hussein (2000)
* HRH Princess Zein bint Hussein (2000)
* HRH Prince Talal bin Muhammad (2000)
* HRH Princess Ghida Talal (2000)
* HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad (2020)
* Juan M.Ortiz de Rozas (2016)
* Gabriele Albertini
* Juliana Awada
* Krister Bringéus
* Maria Cavaco Silva
* Armand De Decker
* Laurent Fabius
* Werner Fasslabend
* Faisal Al-Fayez (2020)
* Jaime Gama
* Jenni Haukio
* Yousef Huneiti (2020)
* Toomas Hendrik Ilves
* Jean-Claude Juncker
* Kim Jung-sook
* Ben Knapen (2021)
* Vytautas Landsbergis
* Thomas A. Loftus
* Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
* Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva
* Sauli Niinistö
* John D. Ong
* Christian Poncelet
* Omar Razzaz (2020)
* Eliza Reid
* Ayman Safadi (2020)
* Franz Schausberger
* Wolfgang Schüssel
* Yousef Shawarbeh (2020)
* Antonio Tajani (2023)
* Guy Verhofstadt
* Pieter van Vollenhoven

### Commanders with Star

* Keith B. Alexander
* Grażyna Bernatowicz
* Micael Bydén
* Sverker Göranson
* Fred Kavli
* Franklin Miller
* Riho Terras
* Volker Wieker
* Retno Marsudi

### Commanders

* Amjad Adaileh
* Elżbieta Bieńkowska
* Bjørn Olav Blokhus
* Stéphane Braunschweig
* Marius Haas
* Kjell H. Halvorsen
* John Hamre
* Helga Hernes
* Haakon Baardsøn Hjelde
* Mariss Jansons
* Lars-Emil Johansen
* Krzysztof Krajewski
* Irena Lichnerowicz-Augustyn
* Klaus Naumann
* Fred H. Nomme
* Arild Retvedt Øyen
* Jan Paulsen
* Svein Sevje
* Ingebjørg Støfring
* Conrad Swan
* Yury Yevdokimov

### Knights

* Brian Bell (businessman)
* Lisa Campbell (1994)
* Jostein Helge Bernhardsen
* Martin Tore Bjørndal
* Sissel Birgitte Breie
* Finn Kristen Fostervoll
* Gary L. Gandrud (honorary consul general)
* Stephen E. Harding
* Thorir Hergeirsson
* Charles Letts
* Odd S. Lovoll
* Sverre Lyngstad
* John Jason Pantages
* Knut Ødegård
* Didrik Tønseth (diplomat)
* Sjur Torgersen
* Heiko Uecker
* Jarka Vrbová
* Jon Westborg
* Bernard Loew
* Ronald Stubbings (1999)

### Unknown Classes

* Aqel Biltaji
* Dinna Bjørn
* Rut Brandt
* Ingvard Havnen
* Graham John Hills
* Wilhelmina Holladay
* Stanisław Koziej
* Carl Epting Mundy Jr.
* Kathie L. Olsen
* Oda Sletnes