Address: Office: TIPH HQ Al-Zaghal Building Ras Al-Joura, Hebron.
Phone: +972 2 222 4445
E-mail: hom@tiph.org
Oddvar Midtkandal was born 8th December 1947. After high school he entered into a 35 year long military career as an infantry Officer. He graduated from the Army Military Academy in 1972 and served for the next 13 years in various positions on company and battalion level. In 1982-83 he served for one year in the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai as liaison officer to the Egyptian and Israeli defence forces. He completed the Army Staff College in 1986.
Oddvar Midtkandals next assignment was in the Norwegian Intelligence Service. In 1987-88 he was a fellow at the Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University in Boston where he studied international security policy. In 1988 he returned to the Norwegian Intelligence Service as branch chief, strategic assessments. In 1991 he was promoted to Lieutenant colonel and served as garrison commander in Porsanger, North Norway for two years. He then attended the NATO Defense College in Rome before he in 1994 was assigned to the Land Command Ostlandet as Chief of Staff.
In 1999 Oddvar Midtkandal was promoted Brigadier General and assigned to the Defence Command North Norway as Chief of Staff. In the period May – August 2001 he was Commander of Land Forces, North Norway.
From September 2001 to March 2002 Brigadier Midtkandal served in Kosovo Force as Chief of the Joint Implementation Commission. In June 2002 he retired from active duty.
In June 2003, Oddvar Midtkandal was appointed Managing director of Kings Bay AS in Ny-Alesund, a scientific research station located in the Norwegian high arctic. He retired from that position in December 2009 and was awarded the King’s Medal of Merit.
From January to August 2011 Oddvar Midtkandal worked as civilian observer in International Monitoring Team, Mindanao, Philippines, monitoring the ceasefire agreement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Oddvar Midtkandal is married to Rigmor Midtkandal, and together they have three children.