Olav Larssen (10 July 1894 – 5 July 1981) was a Norwegian newspaper editor.
He was a typographer by education. He edited the Labour Party newspapers Demokraten in Hamar from 1920 to 1927, and Hamar Arbeiderblad from 1927 to 1935. In 1935 he was hired as a journalist in Arbeiderbladet. In 1940, when Norway became invaded and occupied by Germany, Larssen was the acting news editor of Arbeiderbladet before it was stopped by the Germans. He co-edited the illegal Bulletinen from 1940 to 1942, but for this he was imprisoned.[1] He was held at Møllergata 19 from January to April 1942, then at Grini until February 1943, and thereafter in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp until the war ended.[2] From this period he wrote the section "Blant landsmenn i Sachsenhausen" ('Among fellow countrymen in Sachsenhausen') in the memoir book 3 fra Sachsenhausen (together with August Lange, Carl Johan Frederik Jakhelln and W. Winiarski).[3]
Following the liberation of Norway in 1945, Larssen again became the news editor of Arbeiderbladet. He was editor-in-chief from 1949 to 1963.[1]
He was the father of Randi Bratteli,[4] and father-in-law of Prime Minister Trygve Bratteli.[3]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Torolv Kandahl |
Chairman of the Norwegian Press Association 1946–1947 |
Succeeded by Rolv Werner Erichsen |
| Preceded by Martin Tranmæl |
Chief editor of Arbeiderbladet 1949–1963 |
Succeeded by Reidar Hirsti |