Paul Thissen

Paul Thissen
58th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office January 8, 2013
Preceded by	Kurt Zellers
Minnesota House Minority Leader
In office January 4, 2011 – January 7, 2013
Preceded by	Kurt Zellers
Succeeded by	Kurt Daudt
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 61B district 63A (2003–2013)
Incumbent
Assumed office January 7, 2003
Preceded by	redrawn district
Personal details
Born	(1966-12-10) December 10, 1966 Bloomington, Minnesota
Political party	Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Karen Wilson
Residence	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alma mater	Harvard University (A.B.) University of Chicago Law School (J.D.)
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Catholic

Paul Thissen (born December 10, 1966) is a Minnesota politician and the 58th and current Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 61B, which is in south Minneapolis. First elected in 2002, Thissen has been reelected every two years since.

Family, education and professional career

Thissen was born in Bloomington, Minnesota. His parents, Frank and Barb Thissen, were both lifelong educators. Frank grew up on a farm in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, that the family still owns, and worked for the Saint Paul Public Schools as a teacher, counselor, and administrator. Barb worked for many years as a special education teacher for Richfield Public Schools.

After graduating from the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota, Thissen attended Harvard College and graduated with high honors in 1989. He earned a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1992.

Thissen clerked for James Loken of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and then went to work at the Minneapolis law firm of Briggs & Morgan, where he specialized in general litigation and appellate work and served as chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee. During Thissen's tenure, the firm more than doubled the hours of free legal services it provided to low-income individuals and nonprofits.^{[citation needed]} Thissen also worked for the Minnesota State Public Defender's Office and founded "Access for Persons with Disabilities," a group of lawyers dedicated to providing legal services to persons with disabilities.

In 2006, Thissen was named one of "Forty Under 40" top business professionals in the Twin Cities by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. In 2008, he was named one of the "Best Brains" in the Twin Cities by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.

Thissen is married to Karen Wilson, with whom he has three children. He continues to work at Lindquist & Vennum when the Legislature is not in session.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Thissen in 2009.

Thissen was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002, in his first run for public office.

During his first two terms, Thissen served as a member of the minority party and developed a reputation as someone who could work across party lines. He was a key player in passing significant legislation, including major changes to Minnesota's eminent domain laws to protect the rights of individual property owners, the merger of the insolvent Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund into the statewide teachers pension fund, a nation-leading law to curb abusive tax-preparer practices, and an overhaul of state campaign law.

In 2006, Thissen served as Finance Co-Chair of the House DFL Caucus and raised more money than the Republican opposition. In the election that November, the DFL added 19 seats to its majority. Politics in Minnesota named Thissen one of the big "winners" of the 2006 election in its November 9, 2006 edition.^{[citation needed]}

From 2007 to 2010, Thissen served as chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. Before becoming minority leader in 2011, he also served on the Health Finance Committee, the Biosciences Committee, the Telecommunications Division, the Finance Committee, the Rules Committee and the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement. Thissen also served as speaker pro tempore.

Thissen was chief author of HF 1, the Children's Health Security Act. The proposal, which would provide health coverage to all children in Minnesota families who make under $60,000 per year, passed the Minnesota House.

Thissen served on the Health Care Access Commission and also served on Governor Tim Pawlenty's Health Transformation Taskforce. In 2008, he was instrumental in passing health reform legislation that the Minneapolis Star Tribune named the prize of the 2008 session.^{[citation needed]}

After its victory in the 2012 election, the DFL caucus in the Minnesota House of Representatives elected Thissen speaker for the upcoming legislative session. He became speaker on January 8, 2013.

2010 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign

In November 2008, Thissen launched an exploratory campaign for the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial race. On July 24, 2009, he officially announced his candidacy, noting that he would focus on the issues of health care, renewable energy and education. He subsequently withdrew from the race at the April 2010 State DFL Convention after the fifth round of balloting, which led to a two-person race between then House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

See also

• Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2010.

External links

• Paul Thissen at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Rep. Thissen official web page
• Campaign Website and Resource Guide
• Paul Thissen on Twitter
• Paul Thissen on Facebook
• Rep. Thissen Speech on Children's Health
• 2010 gubernatorial campaign videos

Political offices
Preceded by Kurt Zellers	Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives 2013–present	Incumbent
Minnesota House of Representatives
New district Redistricting	Member of the House of Representatives from the 61B district 63A (2003–2013) 2003–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Kurt Zellers	Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives 2011–2013	Succeeded by Kurt Daudt