Arne Rettedal

Arne Rettedal
Born	Template:Birth date Madla, Norway
Died	December 28, 2001(2001-12-28) (aged 75) Stavanger, Norway
Occupation(s)	Engineer, entrepreneur, politician
Years active	1957–1995
Known for	Minister of Local Government and Labour (1981–1986), Mayor of Stavanger (1965–1967, 1972–1981), County mayor of Rogaland (1988–1991)

Arne Rettedal (25 July 1926 – 28 December 2001) was a Norwegian engineer, entrepreneur, and politician affiliated with the Conservative Party. He held the position of Minister of Local Government and Labour from 1981 until 1986, served as mayor of Stavanger during two terms (1965–1967 and 1972–1981), and was county mayor of Rogaland from 1988 to 1991.

Originating from Madla as the son of farmer Ola Rettedal and Rakel Kristine Berge, he completed his secondary schooling in 1947 before earning an engineering degree at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1957. After working as an engineer for four years, he established his own consulting company. His political engagement was primarily local: he sat on Madla municipal council between 1960 and 1964, including a brief tenure as mayor in 1964; participated in Stavanger city council from 1965 to 1981, serving as mayor for two separate periods; and was a member of Rogaland county council from 1967 to 1981, holding the role of deputy county mayor from 1967 to 1971. He significantly contributed to bringing Statoil’s headquarters and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to Stavanger and was a member of Statoil's corporate council starting in 1975.

During his term as Minister of Local Government and Labour under Prime Minister Kåre Willoch (1981–1986), Rettedal promoted housing policies but also encountered major labor disputes within the petroleum industry. Later, as chairman of the Norwegian State Railways board from 1990 to 1995, he again dealt with conflicts involving union representatives.

Rettedal held the office of Rogaland’s county mayor from 1988 until he was not re-elected in 1991. He attempted to regain this role in 1995 but was unsuccessful. In recognition of his service, he received the Knight, First Class distinction of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1993. His professional life was honored through festschrifts and a biography by Thorbjørn Kindingstad published in 1998 titled Maktens byggherre. Married since 1954, Rettedal passed away in Stavanger in 2001.

In the Norwegian television series Lykkeland, actor Vegar Hoel portrayed him.