King of Norway Unveils Statue to Mark Centennial A handsome new statue stands on Embassy Row in front of the Norwegian Residence at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 34th Street, NW. On Sept. 18, King Harald V of Norway unveiled this life-size bronze of his late mother, Crown Princess Märtha. The statue was presented by former Vice President Walter Mondale—of Norwegian descent himself—as a gift from the Norwegian American Foundation on behalf of the Norwegian-American community to the citizens of Norway. This year, Norway celebrates the centennial of the peaceful dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905 and 100 years of U.S.-Norwegian diplomatic relations. The full-size bronze sculpture was created by Kirsten Kokkin, an acclaimed sculptor born in Norway and now living in Colorado. The statue honors the late Crown Princess Märtha for her role in strengthening the bonds between Norway and the United States during World War II and serves as a fitting reminder of the strong ties between the two countries. King Harald V also has strong personal ties to the Washington area, having lived here as a child during World War II with his mother and two sisters, both of whom were present at the ceremony. The Norwegian royal family stayed in the area for five years, including several months in the White House at the invitation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. According to former Sen. Mondale, Crown Princess Märtha was a “beloved figure in both Norway and in the United States during World War II.” Exiled to the United States while the fight against the Nazi invasion was under way at home, Märtha became close to the Roosevelt family. This is King Harald V and his wife Queen Sonja’s second visit to Washington, D.C., this year. Their March 2005 visit included lunch with President Bush in the White House and a visit to a D.C. public school. Their two-day trip came at a time when the United States just accepted emergency supplies from Norway to assist in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort, supplies that so far have included tents, blankets and surgical kits.

Sneak Peek at Sweden’s New Embassy Coincidentally, Norway’s king and queen were just leaving American soil when their neighbor Sweden held its first “Hard Hat Dinner”—a sneak peak at Sweden’s new embassy on the Georgetown waterfront. Still under construction, this modern glass house designed by Swedish architects Gert Wingardh and Tomas Hansen is expected to be ready for occupancy late next summer, with a grand opening in November 2006. The House of Sweden will be an unusual embassy building and will include a chancery, 16 corporate apartments and an event center. “It will be a smorgasbord of everything,” said Caroline Vicini, deputy chief of mission at the Swedish Embassy, “but not a propaganda magazine.” She added that the prime location, nestled along Rock Creek Park and overlooking the Potomac River, will be “the place to see and to be seen.” The star of the evening was Swedish TV chef Tina Nordstrom, who is bringing her fresh brand of television cooking to PBS stations across America. The first female chef in 12 years to become a finalist in her country’s “Chef of the Year” competition, Nordstrom began working in her parents’ restaurant in southern Sweden at the age of 6. “My father, the chef, told me I had to taste everything—even, the dishwater!”

Diplomatic Wives Lead Fight Against Heart Disease Did you know that heart disease is the number-one killer of women in the world? If not, you will know soon if Sister to Sister International co-chairs Rima Al-Sabah, wife of the Kuwaiti ambassador, and lady Catherine Manning, wife of the British ambassador, and their team of determined diplomatic wives have their way. Over two years ago, Al-Sabah and Irene Pollin met at a diplomatic lunch. They began talking about how Pollin’s foundation, Sister to Sister—created more than six years ago to raise awareness about and fight heart disease in women—could become an international effort. Pollin had always hoped to spread her message beyond America’s borders. Suddenly, she had a diplomatic partner to make that dream come true. “Our aim is to teach that while heart disease is the leading killer for women in most of the world, it can be prevented,” said Al-Sabah, who was immediately joined in her effort not only by Manning but ambassadors’ wives from Britain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar and Russia. Now others want to help too. “These diplomatic wives are an extraordinary group of educated, caring women,” said Pollin, who hopes these active women “will be our health ambassadors” and take the message back to the women in their home countries who are at risk. In January, more than 80 ambassadors’ wives attended a kick-off heart-health screening breakfast at Neiman-Marcus. This Sept. 29, Sister to Sister brings free heart screening to all female diplomatic employees with help from Howard University’s medical personnel. “Even the ambassadors’ wives who looked healthy were surprised that they were at risk,” said Dr. Celia J. Maxwell, director of Howard’s Women’s Health Institute, who led the January screening, where out of 50 ambassadors’ wives, 15 percent were at some risk. “You don’t have to be obese or overweight … you can be skinny and have high cholesterol,” Maxwell said. “It was a surprise to them but not to us. This is why we need to screen women and not just suppose by how they look that they are heart healthy.” Now Sister to Sister is inviting all female embassy employees to the MCI Center on Sept. 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a private screening and on-site diagnosis. Remember, more women will die from heart disease than anything else if they don’t change how they eat, exercise and take care of themselves. For your free screening, call Nancy Rosen at (301) 718-8033. For more information, please visit www.sistertosister.org. Third Annual Latino Student Fund Gala Set for March 2006 The Latino Student Fund’s Gala Committee has just announced that its third annual gala will be held March 3, 2006, at the Organization of American States (OAS). The Ambassadorial Committee will be chaired by Costa Rican Ambassador F. Tomas Dueñas and his wife, Diana. Former ambassadorial chairs include Nicaraguan Ambassador Salvador Stadthagen and his wife Analia in 2004 and Guatemalan Ambassador Jose Guillermo Castillo and his wife Flor Maria this year. Several pre-gala events are planned before the Spring Gala at the OAS, where members of the diplomatic corps, chief executive officers of major corporations and leaders in education come together for a festive night of delicious Latin cuisine and high-spirited dancing while raising money for the fund. The mission of the Latino Student Fund is to ensure equal access to the best educational resources of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for students of Hispanic descent through financial aid, academic support and informational outreach. In the United States, only 27 percent of all Hispanic students graduate from high school. According to Latino Student Fund founder Rosalia Miller, “A strong academic foundation during grades K-12 is a critical step toward higher education and professional leadership.” For more information on how to volunteer, participate or plan for the Latino Student Fund Gala, please visit www.latinostudentfund.org.