Odd Eriksen

Odd Eriksen (11 March 1955 – 11 February 2023) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party. In addition to his political career he gained national fame after stopping an Algerian hijacker from crashing a Kato Air-flight in 2004.

Odd Eriksen
Chairman of Nordland County Municipality
In office
6 December 2006 – 7 October 2013
Preceded byGeir Knutson
Succeeded byTomas Norvoll
Minister of Trade and Industry
In office
17 October 2005 – 29 September 2006
Prime MinisterJens Stoltenberg
Preceded byBørge Brende
Succeeded byDag Terje Andersen
Member of the Norwegian Parliament
In office
1 October 1993 – 30 September 2001
ConstituencyNordland
Personal details
Born(1955-03-11)11 March 1955
Alstahaug, Nordland, Norway
Died11 February 2023(2023-02-11) (aged 67)
Political partyLabour
Children2
AwardsCarnegie Medal in gold (2005)[1]
Polaris Award (2005)

Biography

Eriksen was born in Alstahaug on 11 March 1955,[2] a son of fisherman Håkon Eriksen and Hildur Aronsen.[1] He started his working career in 1974 at the Elkem aluminium works in Mosjøen, and was a full-time trade unionist between 1980 and 1990.[2] From 1986 to 1990 he was leader of the local trade union, and from 1988 to 1990 also a deputy board member of the Norwegian Union of Chemical Industry Workers.[1]

Eriksen was elected deputy representative to the Storting for the period 1989 to 1993, and ordinary representative to the Storting from 1993 to 2001. From 1993 to 1997 he was vice chairman of the Standing Committee on Defence, and a member of the Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration from 1997 to 2001.[1] From 2003 to 2005 he was the counsellor of transport in Nordland County Municipality and chairman of the Labour Party's county chapter.[2]

Odd Eriksen became a national celebrity in 2004 after he and a fellow airline passenger stopped another passenger who had attacked the pilots of a Kato Air flight near Bodø with an axe. Eriksen himself broke his back in the fight, but managed to restrain the attacker while the badly injured pilots saved the plane from a nose dive, just 100 feet from hitting the ground.[3] For his actions Eriksen, his fellow passenger and the pilots received the Polaris Award from the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations.[4]

Eriksen was Minister of Trade and Industry in the Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet from 2005 to 2006, resigning from his post on 29 September 2006. He chaired the Nordland County Municipality from 2006 to 2007, and was reelected for this position for the period 2007–2013.[1]

He died on 11 February 2023, at the age of 67,[5] and was survived by two children and three grandchildren.[6]

References
  1. "Eriksen, Odd (1955-2023)". stortinget.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. Bolstad, Erik (ed.). "Odd Eriksen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. Veløy, Chris (2 December 2019). "To tideler fra katastrofen". nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  4. "IFALPA honours Kato Air Pilots for heroism and exceptional airmanship, and passengers for heroism" (PDF). ifalpa.org. 10 April 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007.
  5. "Tidlegare næringsminister Odd Eriksen er død". NRK. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  6. Unosen, Christian A. (11 February 2023). "Odd Eriksen er død: – Vi elsker ham fryktelig høyt". Avisa Nordland (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
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