Dancing with the Queen - Book talk by the former ambassador to Norway

NATO was expanding, Germany was reuniting, Norway was hosting both the Oslo Accords and the Winter Olympics, and former Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Tom Loftus was wining, dining, and most importantly, negotiating his way through it all as President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway.

“Mission to Oslo: Dancing with the Queen, Dealmaking with the Russians, Shaping History” is Loftus’s rollicking tale of the true and historic adventures he had as the U.S.ambassador to Norway. Mr. Loftus will be at Norway House to discuss his book, the era, and his adventurous career.

Told with wit and wry humor, the grandson of Norwegian immigrants and the one-time Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate vibrantly brings his international job to life. His memoir covers 1993 through 1997, the momentous four years of the first Clinton administration—a critical time of historic change after the end of the Cold War, with policies adopted that are still debated today, including the

Norwegian-brokered Oslo Accords that laid the hopeful groundwork for a path to peace in the Mideast.

Loftus recounts the Oslo Accords and relates the hugely pivotal work of both building of relations with a fledgling Russian democracy and of taking part in the expansion of NATO to Eastern Europe and the Baltics. He details everything from his travels with The King and Queen to his artful dodging of tanks on a wintry Russian road and from hosting First Lady Hillary Clinton at the Winter Olympics to sharing tea with Nelson Mandela.

Dignitaries and diplomats. Food, wine, entertaining … and, yes, skiing. It is all here in what former U.S. News and World Report journalist Peter Ross Range calls “a wonderfully engaging memoir … a rollicking good journey and compelling tale of a fascinating career.”

The event is free, though we would appreciate reservations. Mr. Loftus's book will be available for purchase at the event.

You can also order a copy by clicking here.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Norway House, 913 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, United States