Ottar Brox (born 30 August 1932 in Torsken) is a Norwegian authority in social science and a politician for the Socialist Left Party. He was professor of sociology at the University of Tromsø from 1972 to 1984, and later associate professor while working as head of research at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research. Brox graduated as an agronomist from Norwegian College of Agriculture in 1957, took history and sociology at the University of Oslo in 1959 and 1960 and a dr. scient. degree from NLH in 1970.