Background
He was born in Hamar as a son of Trond Vidar Vedum, a lecturer in biology at Hedmark University College, and teacher Karen Sigrid Slagsvold.
He was born in Hamar as a son of Trond Vidar Vedum, a lecturer in biology at Hedmark University College, and teacher Karen Sigrid Slagsvold.
After finishing the lower secondary school in Romedal in 1994 he entered the three-year upper secondary education in natural resources management, with two years at Jønsberg and one year at Tomb. He took one year of sciences at Hedmark University College, then a bachelor"s degree in political science at the University of Oslo from 1999 to 2002. Vedum became active in the Centre Youth, acquiring his first chore in 1993.
He was elected to Hedmark county council in 1999, serving until 2005.
From 2004 to 2005 he also worked as an organizational adviser in the Centre Party. In 2009 he became second deputy leader of the Centre Party, then party leader in 2014.
He was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Hedmark in 2005 and re-elected in 2009 and 2013. He started out in the Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration, then changed to the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services in 2008.
In October 2008 he became deputy leader here, and also Second Deputy President of the Odelsting as well as party whip.
From 18 June 2012 to 16 October 2013 he served in Stoltenberg"s Second Cabinet as the Minister of Agriculture and Food. He lost his job after the cabinet fell, and returned to Parliament where he took a seat in the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
He became a local and regional board member in the Centre Party, and chaired the Centre Youth from 2002 to 2004.
At that time he was also a central board member of the Centre Party. He was also a member of the Electoral Committee from 2005 to 2012, and from 2009 to 2012 the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and the Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. Vedum has also been a deputy board member of Folk og Forsvar (1999–2000) and a board member of Nei til atomvåpen (2005–2007), Nei til European Union (2005–2007), Norway"s Contact Committee for Immigrants and the Authorities (since 2006) and Menighetssøsterhjemmet (2007–2009).