Frode Rinnan (12 December 1905 – 15 February 1997) was a Norwegian architect and politician for the Labour Party.
Early career
He was born in Trondhjem as a son of ship inspector Carl Julius Rinnan (1881–1963) and his wife Thonny Nielsen (1880–1955). After finishing his secondary education in 1925, he enrolled at the Norwegian Institute of Technology where he graduated in architecture in 1930. He chaired the Student Society in Trondheim in the autumns of 1928 and 1929. He worked as an assistant of architect Ole Øvergaard from 1931 to 1932, before working in the publishing house Fram Forlag for a year. He was a member of the revolutionary socialist group Mot Dag and the pacifist group Clarté.[1] He was also active in Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund with planning of sports venues.[2]
Rinnan also continued the political work. He represented the Norwegian Labour Party in Oslo city council from 1956 to 1963.[1] Together with left-wingers such as Karl Evang, Vilhelm Aubert, Kristian Gleditsch, Johan Vogt and Reidar Aulie, Rinnan discussed starting a new, fortnightly publication to represent the leftist opposition within the Labour Party. It did not happen, but some of the people involved later started Orientering.[8] Rinnan had formerly been an editorial board member of the periodical Plan, from 1933 to 1936. From 1959 to 1963 he presided over the National Association of Norwegian Architects; he became an honorary member here in 1980.[1]
Rinnan was married twice. He died in February 1997 in Oslo.[1]