Arnold Christopher Ræstad (15 February 1878 – 18 September 1945) was a Norwegian lawyer, legal scholar, and politician.

His dissertation formed the backbone for Norwegian maritime policy until the concept of a continental shelf was established after World War II.

In 1921, he was appointed foreign minister in Otto Blehr's second cabinet, but was forced to resign after 11 months when he failed to secure a trade agreement with Spain and Portugal, countries that harbored animosity toward Norway during the Prohibition period (1919–1926).

[1] In 1940, Ræstad took the initiative to form a broadcasting organization on behalf of the legal Norwegian government as it fled the country and took exile in London.

He was part of the group that initiated Nortraship, acted as the president of Norges Bank in exile, and as the Norwegian delegate to the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco.