Odvar, Nordli worked as an auditor in Hedmark county (fylke) in 1949-1957 and District Auditor from 1957. He became engaged in politics as a young man and was elected chairman of the regional branch of the Labour Party’s youth organisation in 1951-1961.
Nordli was a member of the Storting in 1961-1985, a member of Government in 1971-1972 and Prime Minister in 1976-1981. He was then Regional Commissioner in Hedmark until 1993. He was a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in 1985-1996.
The biographical sketches of the Norwegian Nobel Committee members were written by Sølvi Glendrange and edited by Øyvind Tønnesson. They are based on the following sources:
– Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (Norwegian Biographical Encyclopaedia), Oslo 1923-1983
– Hvem er Hvem? (The Norwegian “Who’s Who”), several editions
– Aschehoug og Gyldendals Store Norske Leksikon (The Norwegian National Encyclopaedia), Kunnskapsforlaget, 2nd and 3rd edition, Oslo 1989/1995-1999
– Kunnskapsforlagets Nettleksikon (the Web Encyclopedia of Kunnskapsforlaget, www.kunnskapsforlaget.no), Oslo 1999