Odd-Bjørn Fure (5 March 1942 – 22 December 2022) was a Norwegian historian and political scientist. He was born at Stadlandet, and was a brother of politician Julius Fure (1931–2006). His main studies were in comparative politics, but he switched field with a 1983 doctoral thesis on the history of the Norwegian labour movement between 1918 and 1920. He had not previously studied history. After having had several positions, Fure became professor in modern history at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

from 1998 to 2002. He was then appointed director of research at the

Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities The Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities ( no, Senter for studier av Holocaust og livssynsminoriteter, or ''HL-senteret'') is a Norwegian research institution. It is organised as an independent foundation and is an affiliat ...

. From 2002 to 2004 Fure was editor of '' Historisk Tidsskrift'', a Norwegian journal for scientific historical research. He was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

. Fure was a specialist in research on genocide, as well as modern German and European history. In 1997 Fure engaged in the Norwegian debate on

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include ''The Destruction of Dresden'' (19 ...

against

Hans Fredrik Dahl Hans Fredrik Dahl (born 16 October 1939) is a Norwegian historian, journalist and media scholar, best known in the English-speaking world for his biography of Vidkun Quisling, a Nazi collaborationist and Minister President for Norway during the ...

. Dahl would later recall his recommendation of Irving's works, but only after Irving lost his lawsuit against

Deborah Lipstadt Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18, 1947) is an American historian, best known as author of the books ''Denying the Holocaust'' (1993), ''History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier'' (2005), ''The Eichmann Trial'' (2011), and ' ...

. Sure died on 22 December 2022, at the age of 80.

References

1942 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Norwegian historians Norwegian political scientists Academic staff of the University of Bergen Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters People from Sogn og Fjordane 21st-century Norwegian historians {{Norway-historian-stub