Franklin Delano Roosevelt Statue
Details:
In the park sitting up from the water walkway.
StatueA concrete statue of a sitting FDR.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was Norways most steadfast friend during the Second World War, is the only foreign head of state to be honoured with a statue in Oslo.* The statue, by Stinius Frederiksen, which shows FDR seated and holding the Atlantic Charter in his hand, overlooks the City Hall Square and the Quay of Honour, where the royal family stepped ashore when they returned to Norway in triumph after the victory President Roosevelt did not live to see.
The statue was unveiled five years to the day later, on 7 June 1950, by Eleanor Roosevelt in the presence of the entire royal family and the largest crowds Oslo had seen since the royal homecoming. Eleanor Roosevelt and Crown Princess Märtha were given bouquets of flowers in red, white and blue when they arrived, there were speeches by Crown Prince Olav, Mrs Roosevelt and Paal Berg, the leader of the resistance movement, and the ceremony ended with the playing of the Norwegian and American national anthems. As the last tunes died away, Crown Princess Märtha spontaneously walked over and laid her bouquet at the feet of the statue of her great friend.
Source: Trond Norén Isaksen - historiker/historian post
Monument Text:
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT


