List of lieutenant governors of Minnesota
This is a list of lieutenant governors of the U.S. state of Minnesota.
In 1886 elections were moved from odd years to even years. Beginning with the 1962 election, the term of the lieutenant governor increased from two to four years. Prior to the 1974 election, governors and lieutenant governors were elected on separate ballots. Marlene Johnson, elected in 1982 as the running mate of Rudy Perpich, was the first female lieutenant governor of Minnesota. All seven of her successors in that office have also been women.
List
- Parties
Democratic/Democratic–Farmer–Labor Farmer–Labor Republican/Independent Republican Reform/Independence
| No. | Lt. Governor | Took office | Left office | Governor(s) served under | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Holcombe | May 24, 1858 | January 2, 1860 | Henry H. Sibley | Democratic |
| 2 | Ignatius L. Donnelly | January 2, 1860 | March 4, 1863 | Alexander Ramsey | Republican |
| 3 | Henry Adoniram Swift | March 4, 1863 | July 10, 1863 | Alexander Ramsey | Republican |
| Vacant | July 10, 1863 | January 11, 1864 | Alexander Ramsey | ||
| 4 | Charles D. Sherwood | January 11, 1864 | January 8, 1866 | Stephen Miller | Republican |
| 5 | Thomas H. Armstrong | January 8, 1866 | January 7, 1870 | William R. Marshall | Republican |
| 6 | William H. Yale | January 7, 1870 | January 9, 1874 | Horace Austin | Republican |
| 7 | Alphonso Barto | January 9, 1874 | January 7, 1876 | Cushman K. Davis | Republican |
| 8 | James Wakefield | January 7, 1876 | January 10, 1880 | John S. Pillsbury | Republican |
| 9 | Charles A. Gilman | January 10, 1880 | January 4, 1887 | John S. Pillsbury Lucius F. Hubbard | Republican |
| 10 | Albert E. Rice | January 4, 1887 | January 5, 1891 | Andrew R. McGill William R. Merriam | Republican |
| 11 | Gideon S. Ives | January 5, 1891 | January 3, 1893 | William R. Merriam Knute Nelson | Republican |
| 12 | David Marston Clough | January 3, 1893 | January 31, 1895 | Knute Nelson | Republican |
| 13 | Frank A. Day | January 31, 1895 | January 5, 1897 | David M. Clough | Republican |
| 14 | John L. Gibbs | January 5, 1897 | January 3, 1899 | David M. Clough | Republican |
| 15 | Lyndon Ambrose Smith | January 3, 1899 | January 5, 1903 | John Lind (Democratic) Samuel R. Van Sant (Republican) | Republican |
| 16 | Ray W. Jones | January 5, 1903 | January 7, 1907 | Samuel R. Van Sant John A. Johnson | Republican |
| 17 | Adolph Olson Eberhart | January 7, 1907 | September 21, 1909 | John A. Johnson (Democratic) Adolph O. Eberhart (Republican) | Republican |
| 18 | Edward Everett Smith | September 25, 1909 | January 3, 1911 | Adolph O. Eberhart | Republican |
| 19 | Samuel Y. Gordon | January 3, 1911 | January 7, 1913 | Adolph O. Eberhart | Republican |
| 20 | Joseph A. A. Burnquist | January 7, 1913 | December 30, 1915 | Adolph O. Eberhart Winfield S. Hammond | Republican |
| Vacant | December 30, 1915 | October 28, 1916 | J. A. A. Burnquist | ||
| 21 | George H. Sullivan | October 28, 1916 | January 2, 1917 | J. A. A. Burnquist | Republican |
| 22 | Thomas Frankson | January 2, 1917 | January 4, 1921 | J. A. A. Burnquist | Republican |
| 23 | Louis L. Collins | January 4, 1921 | January 6, 1925 | J. A. O. Preus | Republican |
| 24 | William I. Nolan | January 6, 1925 | June 1929 | Theodore Christianson | Republican |
| 25 | Charles Edward Adams | June 25, 1929 | January 6, 1931 | Theodore Christianson | Republican |
| 26 | Henry M. Arens | January 6, 1931 | January 3, 1933 | Floyd B. Olson | Farmer Labor |
| 27 | Konrad K. Solberg | January 3, 1933 | January 8, 1935 | Floyd B. Olson | Farmer Labor |
| 28 | Hjalmar Petersen | January 8, 1935 | August 24, 1936 | Floyd B. Olson | Farmer Labor |
| * | William B. Richardson1 | August 24, 1936 | January 1, 1937 | Hjalmar Petersen | Republican |
| 29 | Gottfrid Lindsten | January 5, 1937 | January 2, 1939 | Elmer A. Benson | Farmer Labor |
| 30 | C. Elmer Anderson | January 2, 1939 | January 4, 1943 | Harold E. Stassen | Republican |
| 31 | Edward John Thye | January 4, 1943 | April 27, 1943 | Harold E. Stassen | Republican |
| 32 | Archie H. Miller | May 6, 1943 | January 2, 1945 | Edward John Thye | Republican |
| 33 | C. Elmer Anderson | January 2, 1945 | September 27, 1951 | Luther W. Youngdahl | Republican |
| Vacant | September 27, 1951 | January 5, 1953 | C. Elmer Anderson | ||
| 34 | Ancher Nelsen | January 5, 1953 | May 1, 1953 | C. Elmer Anderson | Republican |
| Vacant | May 1, 1953 | September 3, 1954 | C. Elmer Anderson | ||
| 35 | Donald O. Wright2 | September 3, 1954 | January 3, 1955 | C. Elmer Anderson | Republican |
| 36 | Karl Rolvaag | January 3, 1955 | January 8, 1963 | Orville L. Freeman Elmer L. Andersen | Democratic Farmer Labor |
| 37 | Alexander M. Keith | January 8, 1963 | January 2, 1967 | Elmer L. Andersen Karl F. Rolvaag | Democratic Farmer Labor |
| 38 | James B. Goetz | January 2, 1967 | January 4, 1971 | Harold LeVander | Republican |
| 39 | Rudy Perpich | January 4, 1971 | December 29, 1976 | Wendell R. Anderson | Democratic Farmer Labor |
| 40 | Alec G. Olson3 | December 29, 1976 | January 4, 1979 | Rudy Perpich | Democratic Farmer Labor |
| 41 | Lou Wangberg | January 4, 1979 | January 3, 1983 | Al Quie | Independent Republican |
| 42 | Marlene Johnson | January 3, 1983 | January 7, 1991 | Rudy Perpich | Democratic Farmer Labor |
| 43 | Joanell Dyrstad | January 7, 1991 | January 3, 1995 | Arne H. Carlson | Independent Republican |
| 44 | Joanne Benson | January 3, 1995 | January 4, 1999 | Arne H. Carlson | IR/Republican |
| 45 | Mae Schunk | January 4, 1999 | January 6, 2003 | Jesse Ventura | Reform/Independence |
| 46 | Carol Molnau | January 6, 2003 | January 3, 2011 | Tim Pawlenty | Republican |
| 47 | Yvonne Prettner Solon | January 3, 2011 | January 5, 2015 | Mark Dayton | Democratic Farmer Labor |
| 48 | Tina Smith | January 5, 2015 | January 2, 2018 | Mark Dayton | Democratic Farmer Labor |
| 49 | Michelle Fischbach4 | January 3, 2018 | Incumbent | Mark Dayton | Republican |
1 Richardson was actually president pro tem of the Minnesota Senate; became acting lieutenant governor when lieutenant governor Hjalmar Petersen became governor on the death of Floyd B. Olson, but Richardson was never sworn in.
2 Wright was president pro tem of the Minnesota Senate and assumed the office of lieutenant governor in 1954 after Lieutenant Governor Ancher Nelsen resigned to become administrator of the Rural Electric Administration.
3 As president of the Minnesota Senate, Olson assumed office of lieutenant governor when Rudy Perpich, then lieutenant governor, became governor on the resignation of Wendell Anderson, who had appointed himself to the United States Senate on resignation of Walter Mondale who had been elected vice president.
4 As president of the Minnesota Senate, Fischbach became lieutenant governor following the resignation of Tina Smith. Smith was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Al Franken. Fischbach resigned from the state Senate and took the oath of office for lieutenant governor on May 25, 2018.
Note on Minnesota political parties names
- Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party: On April 15, 1944 the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party merged and created the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.
- Republican Party of Minnesota: From November 15, 1975 to September 23, 1995 the name of the state Republican party was the Independent Republican party (IR). The party has always been affiliated with the national Republican Party.
- Independence Party of Minnesota: The party was founded under this name in 1992. In 1995 the IPM affiliated with the national Reform Party and renamed itself the Reform Party of Minnesota. In 2000 the Reform Party of Minnesota disaffiliated with the national Reform party and returned to the name Independence party.
Living former Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota
As of January 2018, there are 11 former lieutenant governors of Minnesota who are currently living, the oldest U.S. lieutenant governor being Alexander M. Keith (served 1963–1967, born 1928). The most recent death of a former U.S. lieutenant governor of Minnesota was that of C. Elmer Anderson (served 1939–1943 and 1945–1951, born 1912), on January 22, 1998. The most recently serving lieutenant governor to die was Rudy Perpich (1971–1976) on September 21, 1995.
| Lt. Governor | Lt. Gubernatorial term | Date of birth (and age) |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander M. Keith | 1963–1967 | November 22, 1928 |
| James B. Goetz | 1967–1971 | May 28, 1936 |
| Alec G. Olson | 1976–1979 | September 11, 1930 |
| Lou Wangberg | 1979–1983 | March 27, 1941 |
| Marlene Johnson | 1983–1991 | January 11, 1946 |
| Joanell Dyrstad | 1991–1995 | October 15, 1942 |
| Joanne Benson | 1995–1999 | January 4, 1943 |
| Mae Schunk | 1999–2003 | May 21, 1934 |
| Carol Molnau | 2003–2011 | September 17, 1949 |
| Yvonne Prettner Solon | 2011–2015 | February 3, 1946 |
| Tina Smith | 2015–2018 | March 4, 1958 |
See also
References
- Minnesota Lieutenant Governors 1858- Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
- MHS.org's list
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