Ten foreigners are now to be awarded Sweden’s Royal Order of the North Star in recognition of their efforts in connection with Sweden’s membership of NATO.
The recipients include US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former NATO head Jens Stoltenberg and former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
Sweden is now rewarding several international actors for their support during the country’s application process and entry into the US-controlled NATO military alliance.
According to a government press release, King Carl XVI Gustaf has decided to award the Order of the North Star to ten foreigners, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
– The honours are an expression of our great gratitude for the efforts of these individuals in connection with Sweden’s membership of NATO, writes Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) on the X platform.
Idag ger kungen på vårt förslag Nordstjärneorden – en av landets högsta utmärkelser – till tio utländska medborgare. Det är ett uttryck för vår tacksamhet för deras stora insatser i samband med att Sverige blev medlem i Nato.
Bland mottagare finns Finlands förra statsminister… pic.twitter.com/JcxrWS0pNY
— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) October 22, 2024
Special thanks to Finland
According to the government, the awards are part of Sweden’s way of saying thank you for the efforts that helped Sweden secure membership of the military alliance. The government has particularly emphasised the importance of the support from Finland, whose government and former leaders have played a central role in the process.
The former Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, and the former Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, will both be awarded the rank of Commander with the Grand Cross of the Order of the North Star. The same honour will be bestowed on Finland’s Foreign Minister, Petri Hakkarainen, who will be promoted to Commander First Class.
Mr Kristersson also paid special tribute to former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, who had previously been awarded the Order of the Seraphim for his support during Sweden’s accession to the military alliance.
Finlands tidigare president Sauli Niinistö. Foto: Kremlin.ru
Several US recipients
In addition to the Finnish recipients, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US National Security Advisor Jacob Sullivan will also be honoured. Mr Blinken, who has played a key role in diplomatic talks between Sweden and NATO, will be honoured for what is described as his “extraordinary efforts on behalf of Swedish interests”.
Jens Stoltenberg, the recently retired Secretary General of NATO, will also receive the Order of the North Star for his efforts to bring Sweden closer to NATO.
Other recipients include several diplomats and security advisers who played key roles during Sweden’s application process and membership of the military alliance.