Olav Gunnar Ballo (born 22 October 1956) is a Norwegian former politician for the Socialist Left Party (SV). Ballo changed party to Arbeiderpartiet in 2011.[1] Ballo was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Finnmark in 1997. He studied medicine at University of Würzburg, and has worked as a medical doctor. Ballo represented SV in Alta municipality council from 1991 to 1997. Ballo was the leader of the National Forensics Institute ("Rettsmedisinsk institutt") in Norway between 2009 and 2010/2011.
Ballo lost his daughter Kaja Bordevich Ballo in 2008. She committed suicide on 28 March 2008. This happened some hours after she had taken a Scientology personality test. The news made the front page of Norway's biggest newspapers, such as Verdens Gang and Dagbladet.[2] Ballo divorced his first wife of 15 years in 1998. In 1999 he met, and later married, Heidi Sørensen, a politician for the Socialist Left.[3]
^Ballo inn i Ap, Altaposten 21. oktober 2011; besøkt 26.10.2011. «– Kristin Halvorsen og hennes linje har jeg hatt sans for, men bak henne er det for mange svermere. Jeg er realpolitiker, ønsker å se resultater og leker ikke politikk slik mange sentrale SV-ere holder på med, tordner han.»
