Ottar Brox (30 August 1932 – 16 February 2024) was a Norwegian authority in social science and a politician for the Socialist Left Party. He was professor of sociology at the

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway a ...

from 1972 to 1984, and later

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

while working as head of research at the

Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research The Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (, NIBR) is a social science research institute based in Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsu ...

. He was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

by the

Norwegian University of Life Sciences The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (, NMBU) is a public university located in Ås, Akershus, Ås, Norway. It is located in Akershus (county), Akershus county and has around 7,700 students. History The institution was established in 185 ...

in 2019.

Life and career

Brox graduated as an agronomist from Norwegian College of Agriculture (NLH, now the

) in 1957, took history and sociology at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1959 and 1960 and a

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

degree from NLH in 1970. Brox was a member of parliament for

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

in the period 1973–1977. He was not re-elected in 1977. On the local level he has been a member of

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 ...

city council 1971–1972 and

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 ...

city council 1991–1995. Brox wrote a wide range of popularized science literature and participated actively in the public debate. Brox's most influential book is ''Hva skjer i Nord-Norge?'' (), published in 1966. This book became a source of inspiration to Northern Norwegian regionalism and caused an upgrading of the economic impact of small vessels on fisheries. The theme of this book was carried on in ''Nord-Norge: Fra allmenning til koloni''. His 1964 article "Avvisning av storsamfunnet som økonomisk tilpasningsform" (Rejection of Mainstream Society as a Form of Economic Adjustment) was selected for the Norwegian Sociology Canon in 2009–2011. Brox was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

. In 2002 he received the Fritt Ord Honorary Award. Brox held an

at the

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

from 1994, the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

from 2001, the

from 2003 and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences from 2019. Brox died on 16 February 2024, at the age of 91.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brox, Ottar 1932 births 2024 deaths People from Torsken Socialist Left Party (Norway) politicians Troms politicians Norwegian sociologists University of Oslo alumni Norwegian College of Agriculture alumni Academic staff of the University of Tromsø Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Members of the Storting 1973–1977