Sixty Degrees North- in Swedish!

I was recently interviewed by a reporter from HBL, Finland's largest Swedish-language newspaper, about U.S. plans to acquire icebreakers.

Patrik Harald, a reporter from the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet (also known as HBL), recently published an article based on an interview with me.

HBL is Finland’s largest Swedish-language newspaper.

Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Swedish is spoken at home by approximately six percent of the population, concentrated somewhat on Finland’s western coast. This “finlandssvenska” dialect differs from that spoken in modern Sweden. I’ve heard it described as ‘older’- like that which was spoken in Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century. One of Finland’s major military units- the Amphibious Nyland Brigade- has Swedish as its official working language in order to accomodate Swedish-speaking conscripts.

Here is the headline:

Photo that accompanies the article. Photo: Karl Vilhjálmsson.

Translated:

Now, I was President Trump’s Naval Attaché in the same way that a gate guard at the White House is President Trump’s Security Guard. Like everywhere else, I suppose using the President’s name attracts readers.

Patrik interviewed me over a couple of cups of coffee about a week before publishing the article. Unfortunately, the article is behind HBL’s paywall. However, regular readers of Sixty Degrees North will find little new in the article, as the discussion was focused mainly on topics covered in recent articles, such as:

and

New Photos for Sixty Degrees North

You probably noticed the new photo in the Sixty Degrees North logo. Patrik brough along a photographer to take some pictures to use with his article. As we conducted the interview at a cafe in a local mall, the photographer suggested something more ‘nautical.’ So we made the short drive to the coast where he took some great photos, trying, as he told me, to invoke “Shakleton":

It all seemed a bit much to me, but I really like the photos. Thankfully the Photographer, Karl Vilhjálmsson, has graciously given me permission to use them. I’ve added the credit to them directly so that I do not forget. Thanks, Karl!

Thoughts and Comments

First, thanks again to Patrik, Karl, and HBL for the cup of coffee and the opportunity to talk about icebreakers. Writing Sixty Degrees North has opened up many unforeseen opportunities to discuss icebreakers, Arctic policies, and other interesting topics with many new colleagues.

For example, I was interviewed last week by a reporter from YLE, Finland’s state-owned broadcaster. If and when they publish something, I’ll be sure to share it as well.

Thanks for reading.

All the Best,

PGR