Republicans Abroad Norway
Republicans Abroad Norway (RAN), formerly a chapter of Republicans Abroad, is an independent political advocacy organization, based in Norway, composed of American and Norwegian citizens. Purpose. Republicans Abroad Norway (RAN) supports and advocates the rights of U.S. citizens residing in Norway with regards to policy, elections, voting registration among other issues. RAN also serves as a resource to the Norwegian, American, and European communities to inform and educate people about American conservative principles, policies, and philosophies. The organization often participates in the media with interviews and political debates and panels. Additionally, RAN participates in Norwegian community and  charitable events. History. Legislation that permitted constituents living abroad to vote in federal elections was signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1975, and later updated with new legislation signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. The former prompted the Republican National Committee (RNC) to form Republicans Abroad (RA) in 1978, endeavoring to register the expatriate communities around the world, a majority of which were Republican. The 1973 oil crisis, subsequent oil crisis resulting from the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979, and the Iran hostage crisis illustrated the American dependence on oil in the  Middle East. This led to the focus on oil in the North Sea, a focus that attracted many American families to Norway By 1979, the founding year of RAN, there were thousands of newly arrived American expatriates living in Norway. RAN was established in Oslo by Dieter Gombert, a manager on the Statfjord development project, and held its first meeting on January 9, 1980. Dieter was quickly recruited by the RA International Board as treasurer, and RAN was relocated to Stavanger. Mike Lovelace became the new Chairman and was succeeded by Summer Kalsey in 1984. From 1981 to 1985, RAN  developed programs to inform the 3,000 Americans living in Stavanger on topics ranging from political races in the United States, changes in tax laws affecting expatriates, current politics in Norway, and of course the process to register and vote in the US. Invitations were sent to U.S. political dignitaries to visit RAN in Stavanger with enticements like offshore visits to the then largest oil installations in the world. As part of the RNC, RA also attracted attention from the Reagan administration, and was recognized for securing Republican victories in some close elections. In 1985, RAN relocated back to Oslo with  Ken Burton as chairman, where it has remained since. Oslo had a number of active American groups, and RAN's programs included arranging voter registration with those groups in election years, and addressing those groups about the Republican political platform. RAN was a founding organization of the American Coordinating Council of Norway, sponsoring its first Independence Day celebration in 1986. During the 1980s, Norwegian media was limited to NRK TV and radio broadcasts with Oslo at the center of political analysis. RAN found itself in a new role explaining the Republican positions of the Reagan and subsequent Republican administrations to  the media and Norwegian academic and political groups. After campaign and finance laws were changed in the 1990s, the affiliation between RNC and RA, among other Republican organizations, was dissolved. At that juncture, RAN became an independent Republican organization under the umbrella of Republicans Abroad International, which later became Republicans Overseas in 2013.