This lifesized sculpture of George Marshall is located on the Akershus Quay in Oslo and was unveiled June 15, 2008. Although the work depicts Marshall standing...the work is not very distinct, the face being somewhat more recognizable. The viewer sees a man standing in an overcoat, looking to his right, his land hand resting at his midchest and his right hand at his side apparently holding a scroll or some papers. It is set on a stone plinth which is only about a foot high. The artist is Asbjørn Høglund.
The accompanying plaque includes "Nobel fredspris 1953" which means "Nobel Peace Prize 1953".
This website (
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"When a statue of George C. Marshall was unveiled in Oslo, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre emphasized Marshall's core message: The value of peace and prosperity, when shared, does not diminish. Rather it increases.
Before an audience of 200 a statue of George C. Marshall – former U.S. Secretary of State and architect of the Marshall Plan – was unveiled on June 15, 2008. Present, among other prominent guests, were Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre and U.S. Ambassador to Norway, Benson K. Whitney.
The statue is located along the inner harbor below the Akershus Fortress. Marshall was Chief of Staff of the U.S. armed forces during the war years, but what he is mostly remembered for is the recovery aid program that bears his name. The Marshall Plan addressed the shortages suffered during the post-war years in Europe, and helped prevent new conflicts. Mr. Marshall received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953...
United States Ambassador to Norway, Benson K. Whitney, spoke following the unveiling. Photo by Pierre De Brisis/MFA.
Speech by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre:
Ladies and gentlemen, excellencies, friends,
Today we may perhaps say that we are gathering many years too late. We are coming together to honor a man, a vision and a mission that changed Europe and thus changed Norway half a century ago.
And yet it is a change that new generations need to recall and remember.
As Chief of Staff of the US armed forces from 1939 to 1945 George C. Marshall was one of the main architects of the allied victory in the Second World War.
But in the years from 1947 to 1949, his role was no longer on the battle field. Despite his military victories, it is for his work as Secretary of State during the harsh post-conflict years that we in Europe hold him in such high esteem.
The monumental recovery programme for Europe that bears Marshall’s name, launched by the United States in the summer of 1947, provided credit, goods, advice – and hope.
All of which were in desperately short supply in a continent devastated by war."
Wikipedia (
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"George Catlett Marshall, Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959), was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense. Once noted as the "organizer of victory" by Winston Churchill for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II, Marshall served as the United States Army Chief of Staff during the war and as the chief military adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As Secretary of State, his name was given to the Marshall Plan, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953."