Gunnar Vatten is a Norwegian engineer and civil servant.

He was born in Bodø

Bodø

is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...

, and took the siv.ing.

Sivilingeniør

Sivilingeniør used to be a Norwegian university degree protected by Norwegian law issued to graduates from technical universities. To qualify for the title, you had to follow a structured study programme in technology and natural sciences of 4,5 - 5 years duration at a Norwegian university or...

 degree in electrical engineering

Electrical engineering

Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

 in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. He was employed in the Norwegian Water Resources and Electricity Agency

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate is a Norwegian government agency established in 1921. It is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and regulates the country's water resources and energy supply. Its mandate includes contingency planning for floods, serving as a centre of...

 from 1953 to 1955, and then worked as a consultant in Nordland County Municipality

Nordland County Municipality

Nordland County Municipality is the regional governing administration of Nordland, Norway. The main responsibilities of the county municipality includes the running of 17 upper secondary schools, with 9,500 pupils. It administrates county roadways, public transport, dental care, culture and...

 before working for the Western Electric Company in Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

.

He returned to Norway and was the director of electricity in the agency from 1971 to 1978. He was then a deputy under-secretary of state in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy

Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is a Norwegian ministry responsible for energy, including petroleum and natural gas production in the North Sea. It is led by Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe...

 from 1978 to 1985. When Statkraft

Statkraft

Statkraft is a Norwegian state owned electricity company. With a total energy production of 44.9 TWh in 2007, the Statkraft Group is the third largest energy producer in the Nordic region, as well as the largest energy producer based on renewable energy sources in Europe,consisting of 40% of the...

 was split from the Water Resources and Electricity Agency in 1986, Vatten became the chief executive officer. He left on 1 March 1992 and was replaced by Lars Uno Thulin

Lars Uno Thulin

Lars Uno Thulin was a Norwegian engineer, civil servant and politician for the Labour Party.He was born in Uddevalla, Sweden, but grew up in Fredrikstad. He studied at the Norwegian Institute of Technology where he took a siv.ing. degree...

. He was the chair of Kommunekraft from 1993.

He resided in Nesodden

Nesodden

Nesodden is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Follo. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Nesoddtangen. The parish of Næsodden was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

, was married and had children. He died in July 2011.