Christian Stephansen Oftedal graduated from high school in 1926. He studied in Oslo, Poitiers and Geneva and got his B.A. in 1931. In 1932 he became editor of the newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad. He was elected to the City Council in Stavanger in 1937. After German forces occupied Norway in 1940, Oftedal left his position as newspaper editor. He was soon arrested by the German security police and sentenced to death in 1941. However, the sentence was changed to ten years in prison and Oftedal was imprisoned in Germany for the rest of the war. When he came back to Norway in May 1945, Oftedal resumed his post as editor of Stavanger Aftenblad.

Christian Oftedal was a member of the Storting in 1945-1949. He was deputy member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and took his seat in the committee in 1946 and 1947 as deputy of Hambro and Lange respectively.

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