Scottsdale executive takes oath as envoy

WASHINGTON – Broadcast executive Mark Evans Austad of Scottsdale was sworn in Thursday as ambassador to Norway for the Reagan administration. He was administered the oath of office by another Arizonan, Supreme Court Justice Sandra O’Connor, during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The diplomatic appointment is the second for Austad, 62, vice president of Metromedia Inc., the nation’s largest independent broadcast company. He was ambassador to Finland for two years under the Nixon and Ford administrations. Before moving to Arizona, he was a radio and television personality in Washington, D.C., for nearly 25 years under the professional name of Mark Evans. Austad told The Arizona Republic his post in Norway will be one of considerable responsibility. As a NATO ally, Norway occupies a strategic place in the defense of Europe. It was the first country to open the North Sea oil fields and is located strategically on the North Atlantic, he said. More than 15,000 Americans live there.

Austad said President Reagan notified him in August of his nomination to the ambassadorial post. He said he told the president, “You are a man of destiny, and I am proud to play a little part in your administration.” The president replied, “Mr. Ambassador, Norway is not a little part of my administration,” Austad said. Deputy Secretary of State Walter J. Stoessel Jr., representing Secretary of State Alexander Haig, said Austad is “remarkably well-qualified” for the ambassadorship. Stoessel, former ambassador