Interview with George Noll, New Senior Arctic Official for the United States

George Noll has worked in the U.S. State Department for 28 years, bringing with him years of experience working in different Arctic States and Arctic Council Observer States, among others. Get to know George in this Q&A where he shares his background, what he looks forward to with the Arctic Council and memorable Arctic experiences.

What is your background, and how do you feel it has prepared you for your role as Senior Arctic Official?

I have worked as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. State Department for 28 years. So I have a fair amount of experience, including work in Arctic countries. I've served in Norway, and I also was at the embassy in Moscow for three years. In both of those assignments, I had responsibility for Arctic policy. When I was in Norway, I got to travel a lot to the High North. And when I was in Russia, I was in charge of the energy sector, so I did a lot of work in the Russian Arctic, since most of the Russian energy resources are located there.

In other assignments, like in Germany and Korea, there's a strong research interest in the Arctic. I made a lot of contacts with the Korean Polar Institute and the German Alfred Wegener Institute and got familiarized with their work. My experience has given me background on Arctic States, Observers and those interested in being Observers.

What elements of your work with the Arctic Council are you most looking forward to?

I think the best part of this job is the chance to work on an issue that's both important, but also usually not hair-on-fire urgent. It's a chance to work on some things that have a very big long-term impact on some vulnerable populations and parts of the world.

The other part I'm looking forward to most is the opportunity to go and see the Arctic. I've seen a little bit of it, but I'd like to see some more and meet the people that live in the Arctic. This summer I travelled up to Alaska for an introductory visit and got to meet a lot of the Alaskans that live in the Arctic. It was fascinating to hear their stories and to see how we can help them address the challenges they're dealing with and live a better life.

What are your priorities as the U.S. Senior Arctic Official?

My priorities are what the President tells me my priorities are. He's focused on a few priorities in the Arctic, including security aspects, which falls outside the Arctic Council realm, but it's something that I'm going to have to keep an eye on and work with other colleagues who are working on those issues. The second priority is economic development. This topic is also one that we heard from the Alaskans we met, and they're interested in making sure there's a plan to provide jobs, provide a future for the young people in the Arctic, and to use the resources that are located in the Arctic in a responsible way. The third priority is to look at the Arctic Council and see what we can do to perhaps modernize it, and brainstorm with other SAOs about how to potentially make it more responsive to the environment we're living in. The Arctic Council is a very valuable institution, and one that we fully support. We're almost coming up to the 30^th anniversary of the Council, so it's exciting to work together to create a vision of what we want it to look like for the next 30 years.

What is one of your most memorable Arctic moments?

My most memorable moments are connected to my travels to the Arctic I spoke about earlier. I travelled to Murmansk when I was in stationed in Russia. I was up in Tromsø a few times, and I also had the chance to go to Svalbard when I was stationed in Norway. Although, I have to say, going to Alaska this summer was also fascinating. Seeing the beauty of the state, and also meeting the beautiful people that live there and hearing their stories. That's been an Arctic highlight. I suspect it'll be the same if you do an exit interview with me. Hopefully by then I'll have added a few more beautiful Arctic places to that list and have met a lot more fascinating people.