Jon Fossum (23 February 1923 – 10 July 2007) was a Norwegian orienteer and politician for the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
.
He was born at
Hvalstad
Hvalstad is a village and a small part of the municipality of Asker. Hvalstad has slightly over 2,000 inhabitants, a number that has doubled since the 1970s. Hvalstad lies 20 kilometres from the centre of Oslo.
Hvalstad Station is on the Drammen ...
. In his younger days he was an active sportsman, representing
Asker SK
Asker Skiklubb is a sports club from Asker, Norway.
It was founded on 14 December 1889, and as the name suggests, was initially a cross-country skiing and ski jumping club. Today, however, many individuals (~5000 members) and teams participate i ...
. In addition to
ski jumping
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
and
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
, he competed in
orienteering
Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...
. In the latter sport he won five national championships; three of which in
relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
races with his two brothers.
Fossum was first elected to
Asker
Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greate ...
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...
in 1963, and was mayor of Asker municipality from 1968 to 1980. He was also a five-term member of
Akershus
Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
.
[ He served as a deputy representative to the ]Norwegian Parliament
The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...
from Akershus during the term 1965–1969.[
In 2008 a road at Vakås was named after him.][
]
References
1923 births
2007 deaths
Norwegian orienteers
Male orienteers
Deputy members of the Storting
Conservative Party (Norway) politicians
Mayors of places in Akershus
Asker politicians
Norwegian twins
Norwegian sportsperson-politicians
{{Norway-politician-1920s-stub