Born in Aker as the son of a vicar and a teacher, he took his secondary education at Hamar Cathedral School in 1953.
[1] A member of the Centre Party, he was appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment in 1972, when the cabinet Korvald assumed office.
[1] Godal was previously involved in defence politics as vice president of the pro-military organization Norges Forsvarsforening [no] from 1985 to 1987.
He also chaired the regional chapter of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities from 1975 to 1979, the nationwide hydropower interest group Nationwide Association of Hydropower Municipalities from 1977 to 1985, and the Norwegian Support Committee for Chechnya from 2002 to 2007[1] of which he was a board member.
[1] His 2003 book Tsjetsjenia: der enkene blir selvmordsbombere (English: Chechnya: Where the Widows Become Suicide Bombers) included a preface written by Anna Politkovskaya.
[4] In January 2015, he participated in the first Pegida march in Oslo, stating that Norway was "flooded" by Muslim immigrants.