Odd Flattum (9 August 1942 – 25 November 2024) was a Norwegian sports official and politician for the Labour Party. He was best known as editor-in-chief of ''

Bygdeposten ''Bygdeposten'' is a Norwegian newspaper established in 1954, published in Vikersund, Norway, and owned by A-pressen. Its first editor was Jørgen Bergo. The newspaper covers the municipalities of Modum, Sigdal, Krødsherad and Øvre Eiker Ø ...

'' from 1979 to 1991, mayor of

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tradition of ...

from 1991 to 2007 and president of the

Norwegian Football Association The Norwegian Football Federation (, ; NFF) is the governing body of football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the league systems for men and women (whose top levels are respectively ...

from 1992 to 1995.

Life and career

Flattum grew up between

Vikersund Vikersund is a town of 3,232 (in 2020) inhabitants in the municipality capital of Modum, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. Overview Vikersund is located 30 kilometers south of Hønefoss and 40 kilometers northwest of Drammen. The village is l ...

and

Geithus Geithus is a village in Modum municipality of Buskerud, Norway. It is situated between the villages of Åmot and Vikersund. Geithus is located where the southwestern arm of Tyrifjorden ends and drains into Drammenselva. Geithusbrua is a cable br ...

as a son of a railway worker. He played for

Geithus IL Geithus is a village in Modum municipality of Buskerud, Norway. It is situated between the villages of Åmot and Vikersund. Geithus is located where the southwestern arm of Tyrifjorden ends and drains into Drammenselva. Geithusbrua is a cable br ...

as a youngster, but represented

Vikersund IF Vikersund is a town of 3,232 (in 2020) inhabitants in the municipality capital of Modum, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. Overview Vikersund is located 30 kilometers south of Hønefoss and 40 kilometers northwest of Drammen. The village is ...

as an adult. He took over the family farm Flattum in the late 1980s. He started his professional career as a teacher immediately after finishing the

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

. After three years at Stalsberg school in Geithus, he attended Eik Teachers' College. He worked in

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

upon graduating before returning to

. In 1971 he entered politics, as a municipal council candidate for the Labour Party. He was given the job as editor-in-chief of the local newspaper ''

'' in 1979, working there until 1991, concurrent with his political career. He took over as mayor of Modum in 1991 following the illness of sitting mayor Egil Ranheim. Being formally elected in 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003, his mayoral period spanned until 2007, when he left local politics after 36 years. He served as a deputy representative to the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

from

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

during the terms 1981–1985 and 1985–1989. Flattum also entered sports administration. In 1980 he was elected vice president of the

Football Association of Norway The Norwegian Football Federation (, ; NFF) is the governing body of football (soccer), football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the Norway national football team, men's and Norway women's national football team, women's national te ...

(NFF). He left in 1985, but returned in 1987. In 1992, he advanced to president. Serving until 1996, he presided over Norway's first modern-time qualification to the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, as well as the victory in the

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

. In 1996 he left the NFF to become vice president of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports, serving until 2004. He was also vice president of the

Norwegian Chess Federation The Norwegian Chess Federation (, often abbreviated as ''NSF'') is the national federation of chess in Norway. It was founded in 1914. The current chairman is Anniken Vestby. The organisation's headquarters are in Oslo. It is an affiliate of th ...

from 1998 to 2000. As a player of postal chess, he won the national team tournament in 1974. He held the golden badge of the Football Association and honorary membership in the Norwegian Confederation of Sports, and lastly served as a

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

delegate to football matches until the year he turned 70. Flattum was also a board member of

Norsk Tipping Norsk Tipping is a Norwegian gambling company headquartered in Hamar, Norway. Founded in 1948, Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government and administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The company offers a wide range of lottery ...

and

Ullevaal Stadium Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of ...

. Locally, he held board memberships in

Blaafarveværket Blaafarveværket, or the Blue Colour Works, was a mining and industrial company located at Åmot in Modum in Buskerud, Norway, which existed from 1776 to 1898, and which was Norway's largest mining company in the first half of the 19th century. ...

Modum FK Modum Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Modum, founded in 2007 as a merger between the first teams of Åmot IF, IL Moingen, Vikersund IF, Haugfoss IF, Bingen BK and Geithus IL. The merger plans had been ongoing for some time. It ent ...

and

Vikersundbakken Vikersundbakken or Vikersund Hill is a ski flying ski jumping hill, hill at Vikersund in Modum, Norway. It is one of the two largest purpose-built ski flying hills in the world. Nine list of the longest ski jumps, world records have been set there ...

. He was also an announcer during the Vikersundbakken ski events for 20 years. Flattum died at Ringerike Hospital on 25 November 2024, at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flattum, Odd 1942 births 2024 deaths People from Modum Vestfold University College alumni Norwegian schoolteachers Norwegian newspaper editors Deputy members of the Storting Labour Party (Norway) politicians Mayors of places in Buskerud Norwegian sports executives and administrators Norwegian chess players