He was a sub-director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1994 , secretary for the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1999 as well as leader of the international secretariat , and deputy under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 . He then became a Norwegian ambassador , first to Japan from 2004 to 2009 . In 2005 he led the insight committee on how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami . In 2009 Grutle was appointed as the Lord Chamberlain at the Norwegian Royal Court , but in 2015 he returned to the foreign service as ambassador to Finland
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Åge Bernhard Grutle