Odd Højdahl (5 January 1921 – 23 February 1994) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party. He was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

. In 1971–1972 he was the Minister of Social Affairs in the

first cabinet Bratteli Bratteli's First Cabinet governed Norway between 17 March 1971 and 18 October 1972. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Trygve Bratteli. Bratteli governed his second cabinet between 1973 and 1976. On 8 May 1972 there was a cabinet reshuffle. T ...

. As an elected politician 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 bas ...

from

during the term 1961–1965. On the local level he was a member of

city council from 1953 to 1957. Having studied law from 1941 to 1943, after World War II he worked one year as a police officer and then as a civil servant. He then became a professional trade unionist, holding positions in trade unions within the

national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions ( no, Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national union ...

from 1951. He later rose in the hierarchy of the Confederation to serve as secretary from 1960 to 1969 and then vice chairman from 1969 to 1977. From 1977 to 1988 he directed the

Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority ( no, Arbeidstilsynet) is a Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Labour. It is responsible for supervising the implementation of the Working Environment Act, the Annual Holidays Act, the Natio ...

. He chaired the

Norwegian People's Aid Norwegian People's Aid ( no, Norsk Folkehjelp) was founded in 1939 to provide post-conflict reconstruction assistance and humanitarian relief during conflicts. NPA is now engaged in more than 33 countries in de-mining, humanitarian relief, promot ...

from 1975 to 1979. He was a board member of Strukturfinans, Tiden Norsk Forlag, ''

Arbeiderbladet ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

'' and Den norske Creditbank.

References

* 1921 births 1994 deaths Government ministers of Norway Labour Party (Norway) politicians Deputy members of the Storting Politicians from Oslo Norwegian trade unionists Directors of government agencies of Norway {{Norway-politician-1920s-stub