Georgia’s Danish Honorary Consul Sees Knighthood Upgraded

A Danish knight from Macon, Ga., has risen to a new station in the eyes of the Scandinavian nation’s monarchy.

Christopher N. Smith, an attorney who has long served as the nation’s honorary consul in Georgia, received an upgrade to his knighthood in a luncheon ceremony last month at the Danish embassy in Washington.

Mr. Smith, already inducted as a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (the Danish flag) in 2016, was elevated to the rank of Knight First Class along with three of his honorary consul counterparts and another one who received his knighthood for the first time.

The legend goes that the banner, which Mr. Smith describes as “Georgia Bulldog red” with a white cross, fell from the sky in 1219 to help the Danish army win a battle in present-day Estonia.

His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark, who serves as chancellor of the Orders of Chivalry established in 1808, bestowed the honors in the presence of Jesper Sorenson, the ambassador of Denmark to the U.S.

Mr. Sorenson would visit Georgia later in March to mark the grand opening of the Danish smart water meter producer Kamstrup, drive an electric dump truck at Danish-owned Hydrema and hold a roundtable discussion with high-level members of the Danish business community at the Metro Atlanta Chamber, among other meetings with political and business leaders.

Mr. Smith told Global Atlanta that the simple upgrade from R (“Ridder,” or knight in Danish) to R1 is recognition for continued service to the Danish crown. Mr. Smith began serving in the role in 2006 under Queen Margrethe II, who signed the order that elevated him Jan. 1 of this year, less than two weeks before she abdicated the throne in favor of her son, Frederik X.

“In addition to promoting the longstanding commercial, military and cultural relationships between Denmark and Georgia, the position has been a great vehicle for personal growth,” Mr. Smith told Global Atlanta. “I have learned so much and made many friends both across the state and across the globe due to the interaction the position has opened up for me.”

Mr. Smith was recognized on multiple occasions by Mr. Sorenson during the latter’s visit to Georgia.

Denmark has been prolific in its use of honorary consuls to aid its diplomatic outreach around the world, with 30 honorary consuls in the U.S. including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Atlanta has no Danish consulate general but is under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Denmark in New York, led by Ambassador Berit Basse, who serves as consul general.

A former office of the Trade Commission of Denmark operated in Atlanta for many years, complete with an incubator that helped tech companies break into the U.S. market via Atlanta. The commission closed around 2018 after the departure of the most recent trade commissioner.

Danish business leaders expressed to the ambassador in the March closed-door meeting at the metro chamber the need for Denmark’s government to pay closer attention to the dynamism of the Southeast U.S. and Georgia in particular.

An effort is under way to reinvigorate the Danish Chamber of Commerce of Georgia as the community anxiously awaits the June launch of a nonstop flight to Atlanta from Copenhagen on SAS Scandinavian Airlines.

“Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands are all remarkable places as is the state of Georgia,” Mr. Smith said. “Fascinating people doing innovative work in all of them. It has been a delight playing a role of facilitating interaction among them for the benefit of all. I look forward to continuing doing so for many years in the future.”