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. He was leader of the party on two occasions (1982–1986 and 1992–1996) and served as minister in Kjell Magne Bondevik's both cabinets from 1997 to 2000 and again from 2001 to 2005.

Career

Dørum grew up 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 of ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, and

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, 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 work ...

. 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 until 17 March 2000. He was again Minister of Justice in the second government of Kjell Magne Bondevik 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 Liberal Party 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, professed refusal of a 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 called "civil". Hen ...

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 high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' books and made headlines when he showed up for the premiere of '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' wearing a hobbits robe, much to the amusement of its star

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argentin ...

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

Frognerparken Frogner Park ( no, Frognerparken) is a public park located in the West End borough of Frogner in Oslo, Norway. The park is historically part of Frogner Manor, and the manor house is located in the south of the park, and houses Oslo Museum. Both ...

in 2005. Dørum is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

of part

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi 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

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorum, Odd Einar 1943 births Living people Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Members of the Storting Ministers of Transport and Communications of Norway Norwegian people of German-Jewish descent People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School 21st-century Norwegian politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Ministers of Justice of Norway