Jon Fossum was a Norwegian orienteer and politician for the Conservative Party

Conservative Party of Norway

The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...

.

He was born at Hvalstad

Hvalstad

Hvalstad is a village and a small part of the Municipality Asker. Hvalstad has slightly more than 2000 inhabitants, a number that has doubled since the seventies. Hvalstad is located 20 kilometres from the centre of Oslo....

. In his younger days he was an active sportsman, representing Asker SK. In addition to ski jumping

Ski jumping

Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...

 and cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

, he competed in orienteering

Orienteering

Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...

. In the latter sport he won five national championships; three of which in relay

Relay race

During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...

 races with his two brothers.

Fossum was first elected to Asker

Asker

Asker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Viken traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Asker. The municipality is a suburb of Oslo, the national capital...

 municipal council in 1963, and was mayor of Asker municipality from 1968 to 1980. He was also a five-term member of Akershus

Akershus

- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...

 county council

County council (Norway)

A County Council is the highest governing body of the county municipalities in Norway. The county council sets the scope of the county municipal activity. The council is led by a chairman or county mayor...

. He served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus during the term 1965–1969. During his time as mayor, Asker experienced population growth; also the company Vestfjorden Avløpsselskap was formed.

In 2008 a road at Vakås was named after him.