[beginning of TL notes]

See also my previous translations of Svalbard-related articles:

• NRK: Støre on Trump's Greenland ambitions: "Svalbard is Norway, Svalbard is safe" (Jan. 9, 2025)
• Nettavisen: Liberal head of Svalbard local government wants increased military presence (Jan. 14, 2025; see above post)
• Dagbladet: Wants to establish Russian military base on Svalbard (Jan. 23, 2025)
• Dagbladet: EMBASSY RESPONDS: Norway threatened on Russian state TV; total extermination of all Norwegians discussed (Jul. 30, 2025)

Also, a fun little side note is that when I first clicked on this article there was a typo in the headline, Konprins instead of Kronprins, which almost makes it sound like Haakon is the "Wife Prince" instead of the "Crown Prince". But they fixed this typo by the time I started translating.

EDIT: I changed the title from "100th anniversary of Norwegian sovereignty in Svalbard" to "100th anniversary of Norwegian rule in Svalbard" to avoid confusion.

[end of TL notes]

Crown Prince celebrates 100th anniversary of Norwegian rule in Svalbard: "Svalbard provides us with many opportunities, but also demands much of the nation"

August 14th, by Kari Anne Skoglund, Eirik Hind Sveen, Malin Straumsnes, and Per Inge A. Åsen, reporting from Longyearbyen.

At noon, the Norwegian flag was hoisted in Svalbard's capital Longyearbyen, exactly 100 years after the archipelago became Norway's sovereign territory. At 1:30 PM, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister made speeches. Listen to the Crown Prince describe his close relationship to Svalbard.^[This part was changed while I was mid-translation, I sort of decided to combine the old and new versions.]

[7 minute video of the Crown Prince's speech. I will not bother translating videos.]

This article is being updated.

—"100 years ago today, the island of Spitsbergen together with its surrounding islands as well as Bear Island, were incorporated into our free, independent, indivisible and inalienable realm.^[This is a reference to article 1 of the Constitution of Norway.] We are gathered here together to celebrate this."

These are Crown Prince Haakon's words in his speech for the centennial of the signing of the Svalbard Act.

[Album of highly curated pictures showing Crown Prince Haakon meeting the locals of Longyearbyen. The captions under each picture just reads "Crown Prince Haakon participated in the 100th anniversary celebration." The pictures are variably credited to Lise Åserud of the Norwegian News Agency and Maria Philippa Rossi of NRK.]

Crown Prince Haakon and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre were among the guests at the flag-hoisting ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Svalbard Act, which established in Norwegian law that the archipelago is a sovereign part of the Kingdom of Norway.

The Crown Prince was clear in his speech about the special place Svalbard has in his heart, describing his many visits to the archipelago since 1980. He also spoke with the people who live and work in Svalbard.

—"Geopolitical and international security concerns are another way to talk about Svalbard. The archipelago's location between the great powers of the north make it interesting for many. Svalbard provides us with many opportunities, but also demands much of us as a nation and local society," Crown Prince Haakon said.

[Album of pictures, again by Åserud and Rossi. The captions read, "The centennial is commemorated with a popular celebration." "A number of people were honored this Thursday afternoon, including at the monument to fallen miners in Svalbard." "The Prime Minister was among those who participated in the centennial celebration." "100 years ago, Svalbard was a mining community. That era is now over, and a number of people are now asking, 'What now?'" "It's a foggy morning for the commemorated archipelago." "Svalbard Governor Lars Fause is proud to see the Crown Prince and several ministers participate in the commemoration." "The Liberal leader of the Svalbard local government, Terje Aunevik." "Crown Prince Haakon is also present." — I want to particularly highlight how one of the pictures shows a miner with a protest sign reading, "What now, Jonas?"]

Støre: —"To commemorate stability and predictability"

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is also clear about the importance of Svalbard for Norway.

—"This is a significant, historic commemoration. Svalbard became a part of Norway as a result of negotiations after the First World War. Norway received and took responsibility for the islands. The importance of Svalbard is something the rest of Norway must become more aware of," he says.

Read also: Russia accuses Norway of militarizing Svalbard.

Støre says that this centennial commemoration is not just about looking back to the past.

—"This celebration is also a way of commemorating that Svalbard is as much a part of Norway as any other part of our country. We have a particular responsibility to Svalbard. The King and Queen's visit earlier this year, and my and the Crown Prince's visit now, is a way to commemorate stability and predictability," he says.

[10 minute video of the Prime Minister's speech. As I was translating this article for some reason they kept switching between this video and a photo of Coast Guard vessels in Svalbard's waters here. The caption under that photo read, "Increased militarization of Svalbard has been a hot-button issue for the past half-year. The Coast Guard was clearly visible at the centennial celebration." Photo by Åserud.]

The Prime Minister's speech noted that he is not frightened by the increased geopolitical and security significance Svalbard has gained.

—"We feel the tension in the north, but its source is not in the north but from elsewhere. This is because we can maintain stability, peace and cooperation."

[Album of more photos of the centennial. The only interesting photo in this album is of Mia Ekeblad Eggenfellner singing in bunad. She is a singer who also serves as the leader of the Svalbard Youth Council. According to an article by Artica Svalbard, she grew up in Longyearbyen with both Swedish and Norwegian citizenship, but sees herself as a native of Svalbard only, and considers Norway to be a country as foreign as any other. Wild!]

Read also: Iben (16) wants better mental health services in Longyearbyen following multiple suicides.

A symbolic flag-raising

Støre states clearly that Norwegian sovereignty should not only be on paper.

—"It must be maintained through activity: through having people live here, that there is activity here, and that there is new, Norwegian activity now that the mining operations are nearing their end."

[Photo of the flag raising. "The Norwegian flag was raised in Longyearbyen exactly 100 years after it was raised for the first time here following the signing of the Svalbard Act." Photo by Rossi.]

The flag-raising was symbolic, with the Coast Guard in the harbor in the background.

—"Svalbard has a special position by being so far north. It draws us politicians to itself. In the world's current situation with regard to international security, the archipelago has become even more important," Minister of Justice and Public Security Astri Aas-Hansen says.

[Photo of her at the commemoration, by Rossi.]

She notes that Svalbard is today a living society where people raise families.

—"People of all ages are engaged in their local community, there's a lot of community spirit here with people helping each other, and there are contributions from the scientific community and business here. These all contribute to the societal development of Longyearbyen," she says.

Read also: University of Svalbard rejects Chinese students.

Met with a miners' protest

Many are wondering about the future of Longyearbyen's societal development, especially now that the last mine in the area has been closed down: Mine 7 had its last day of production in June of this year.

During the centennial, the Prime Minister was met with miners who wanted answers about their future.

[Album showing Prime Minister Støre meeting with a handful of protestors. Photos by Åserud, Rossi, and also Per Inge A. Åsen for NRK.]

Støre says to NRK that the Norwegian government must work to find new industries which could serve to maintain a stable population in Svalbard.

—"That era is over. We must show our deep gratitude to all who have worked in the mines for all these years, and see if we can find new industries for this somewhat vulnerable Arctic environment as it stands," Støre says.

He has faith that the end of mining in Svalbard is the beginning of a new chapter in the archipelago's history with new industries.

[4-minute video showing Støre placing a wreath at a monument to Einar Sverdrup. Sverdrup was the CEO of Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani / Great Norwegian Spitsbergen Coal Company, and he volunteered for a military operation to secure Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard during World War II. He was killed in action after Germans bombed his ship, the SS Isbjørn.]

Read also: Russia accuses Norway of militarizing Svalbard. [Yes, the same article from earlier.]

—"A northern power"

Like the Prime Minister, Svalbard's Governor Lars Fause is also clear about the importance of celebrating this centennial.

—"Svalbard means a lot for Norway. This anniversary is being celebrated in sort of the same way as 100 years ago; at the same time we're commemorating all that has happened in the course of the past 100 years," he says.

[Photo of Svalbard Governor Lars Fause, by Rossi.]

He, the Norwegian government's highest representative in the archipelago, provides several examples of the significance of the islands, which lie 900 kilometers off the Norwegian mainland:

• The archipelago which was incorporated into Norway 100 years ago, is bigger than all of South Norway.^[He presumably meant to say SouthERN Norway, that is Agder, because South Norway (Trøndelag and all the counties south of it) is about 3.5x bigger than Svalbard.]
• Its coastline meant that Norway in the 1950s had a continental shelf which today extends 200+ nautical miles. [?]
• The archipelago's fish protection zone was established in 1977.
• Mining has been a key employer and source of income for the islands until the last mine shut down in spring.
• The archipelago has a strategic position in the Arctic.

—"We have an envious position in the middle of the Arctic. I heard the leader of the local government call us an Arctic superpower. I'm not quite sure if we could be called 'super', but we certainly are a northern power that other states can want but never get. We'll try to maintain that position as best as we can for the next hundred years as well," Fause says.

Read also: Svalbard Global Seed Vault: How Norway's reputation, and the world's heritage, were put at risk.