Odd Einar Dørum (born 12 October 1943)Sjavik, Jan (2010) ''The A to Z of Norway'', Scarecrow Press, , p. 60 is a Norwegian former politician and former member of

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He was leader of the party on two occasions (1982–1986 and 1992–1996) and served as minister in

Kjell Magne Bondevik Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norway, Norwegian Lutheranism, Lutheran Religious minister, minister and Politics of Norway, politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party, he ser ...

's both cabinets from 1997 to 2000 and again from 2001 to 2005.

Career

Dørum grew up in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, where he studied history at university. He was a member of Venstre's youth organization ( Unge Venstre), and from 1970 to 1972 was its leader. He was a city councillor in Trondheim while working as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. Dørum was a member of parliament from 1977 to 1981 and was re-elected in 1997. He was Minister of Transport and Communications from 17 October 1997 to 15 March 1999, then

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

until 17 March 2000. He was again Minister of Justice in the second government of

from 2001 to 2005. He served four terms as an elected member of the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) (1977–1981, 1997–2001, 2001–2005, and 2005–2009). He did not seek re-election in the 2009 election. He was the leader of the

from 1982 to 1986 and again from 1992 to 1996. Despite becoming an experienced Minister of Justice, Dørum himself had a run-in with the law in his youth. He participated in a non-violent

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

protest in Mardøla, Norway in 1970. Protesting against the government turning several waterfalls into powerplants, he was carried away by police together with other prominent protestors like philosopher Arne Næss. This marked the first time civil disobedience was used to protect the environment in Norway. Dørum is known as a very grounded person, and unlike most politicians his age he does not take himself very seriously. For decades he has been a huge fan of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' books and made headlines when he showed up for the premiere of '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' wearing a

hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...

s robe, much to the amusement of its star

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...

. He later donned the same outfit again in an outdoor Lord of the Rings concert in Frognerparken in

in 2005. Dørum is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

of part German-Jewish descent on his mother's side.https://nbl.snl.no/Odd_Einar_D%C3%B8rum ''Norsk biografisk leksikon'' He lives in Oslo, married to Randi Gerd Øverland and has two children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorum, Odd Einar 1943 births Living people Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Ministers of transport and communications of Norway Norwegian people of German-Jewish descent People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School Ministers of justice of Norway Members of the Storting 2001–2005 Members of the Storting 1997–2001 Members of the Storting 2005–2009 Members of the Storting 1977–1981