Robert J. Odegard (December 22, 1920 – September 20, 2013) was an American businessman and politician.

Life and career

Born in

Princeton, Minnesota Princeton is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, Mille Lacs and Sherburne County, Minnesota, Sherburne counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the junction of the Rum River and its West branch. It is 50 miles north of Minneapolis and 30 m ...

, Odegard served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He received his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He was the manager of the family business and the executive director of the University of Minnesota Foundation. Odegard served in the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1961 and 1962 as a Republican. He ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1962 and 1964 and lost the elections. He died in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

.Robert J. Odegard-obituary
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Notes

1920 births 2013 deaths People from Princeton, Minnesota University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences alumni Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives American businesspeople United States Navy personnel of World War II {{Minnesota-politician-stub