List of speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives
| Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
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since January 6, 2015 | |
| Term length | Two years, no term limit |
| Inaugural holder | George Bradley |
| Formation | March 12, 1858 |
| Website | http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/ |
 |
|---|
| Constitution |
This is a list of Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House is usually the leader of the majority party, and is the most powerful figure in the House. The current House Speaker is Rep. Kurt Daudt.
Territorial
| # | Speaker | Took office | Left office | Party/Caucus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph W. Furber | 1849 | 1851 | Whig |
| 2 | Michael E. Ames | 1851 | 1852 | Democratic |
| 3 | John D. Ludden | 1852 | 1853 | Unknown |
| 4 | David Day | 1853 | 1854 | Unknown |
| 5 | Nathan C. D. Taylor | 1854 | 1855 | Unknown |
| 6 | James S. Norris | 1855 | 1856 | Democratic |
| 7 | Charles Gardner | 1856 | 1857 | Unknown |
| 8 | Joseph W. Furber | 1857 | 1857 | Whig |
| 9 | John S. Watrous | 1857 | 1859 | Republican |
State
| # | Speaker | Took office | Left office | Party/Caucus | Notes | Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Bradley | March 12, 1858 | 6 December 1859 | Republican | 1st | |
| 2 | Amos Coggswell | 1859 | 1861 | Republican | 2nd | |
| 3 | Jared Benson | 1861 | 1862 | Republican | 3rd | |
| 4th | ||||||
| 4 | Charles D. Sherwood | 1863 | 1863 | Republican | 5th | |
| 5 | Jared Benson | 1864 | 1864 | Republican | 6th | |
| 6 | Thomas H. Armstrong | 1864? | 1865 | Republican | Unclear whether took office in 1864 or 1865 | 7th |
| 7 | James B. Wakefield | 1866 | 1866 | Republican | Served as a U.S. Representative | 8th |
| 8 | John Q. Farmer | 1867 | 1868 | Whig/Republican | 9th | |
| 10th | ||||||
| 9 | Chester D. Davidson | 1869 | 1869 | Republican | 11th | |
| 10 | John L. Merriam | 1870 | 1871 | Republican | 12th | |
| 13th | ||||||
| 11 | A.R. Hall | 1872 | 1874 | Republican | 14th | |
| 15th | ||||||
| 16th | ||||||
| 12 | William R. Kinyon | 1875 | 1876 | Republican | 17th | |
| 18th | ||||||
| 13 | John L. Gibbs | 1877 | 1877 | Republican | 19th | |
| 14 | Charles A. Gilman | 1878 | 1879 | Republican | 20th | |
| 21st | ||||||
| 15 | Loren Fletcher | 1881 | 1885 | Republican | 22nd | |
| 23rd | ||||||
| 16 | John L. Gibbs | 1885 | 1887 | Republican | 24th | |
| 17 | William Rush Merriam | 1887 | 1889 | Republican | Served as Governor of Minnesota | 25th |
| 18 | Charles H. Graves | 1889 | 1891 | Republican | 26th | |
| 19 | Ezra T. Champlin | 1891 | 1893 | Alliance | 27th | |
| 20 | William E. Lee | 1893 | 1895 | Republican | 28th | |
| 21 | Samuel Rinnah Van Sant | 1895 | 1897 | Republican | Served as Governor of Minnesota | 29th |
| 22 | John D. Jones | 1897 | 1899 | Republican | 30th | |
| 23 | Arthur N. Dare | 1899 | 1901 | Republican | 31st | |
| 24 | M.J. Dowling | 1901 | 1903 | Republican | 32nd | |
| 25 | Leverett W. Babcock | 1903 | 1905 | Republican | 33rd | |
| 26 | Frank Clague | 1905 | 1907 | Republican | Served as a U.S. Representative | 34th |
| 27 | Lawrence H. Johnson | 1907 | 1909 | Republican | 35th | |
| 28 | Anton J. Rockne | 1909 | 1911 | Republican | 36th | |
| 29 | Howard H. Dunn | 1911 | 1913 | Republican | 37th | |
| 30 | Henry Rines | 1913 | 1915 | Conservative | Served as Minnesota Treasurer | 38th |
| 31 | H.H. Flowers | 1915 | 1917 | Conservative | 39th | |
| 32 | Ralph J. Parker | January 1917 | January 1919 | Conservative | 40th | |
| 33 | William I. Nolan | January 1919 | January 1925 | Conservative | 41st | |
| 42nd | ||||||
| 43rd | ||||||
| 34 | John A. Johnson | January 1925 | January 1931 | Conservative | 44th | |
| 45th | ||||||
| 46th | ||||||
| 35 | Oscar A. Swenson | January 1931 | January 1933 | Conservative | 47th | |
| 36 | Charles Munn | January 1933 | January 1935 | Liberal | 48th | |
| 37 | George W. Johnson | January 1935 | January 1937 | Conservative | 49th | |
| 38 | Harold H. Barker | January 1937 | January 1939 | Liberal | 50th | |
| 39 | Lawrence M. Hall | January 1939 | January 1949 | Conservative | Longest-serving speaker | 51st |
| 52nd | ||||||
| 53rd | ||||||
| 54th | ||||||
| 55th | ||||||
| 40 | John A. Hartle | January 4, 1949 | January 6, 1955 | Conservative | 56th | |
| 57th | ||||||
| 58th | ||||||
| 41 | Alfred I. Johnson | January 6, 1955 | January 5, 1959 | Liberal | 59th | |
| 60th | ||||||
| 42 | Edwin J. Chilgren | January 5, 1959 | January 7, 1963 | Liberal | 61st | |
| 62nd | ||||||
| 43 | Lloyd L. Duxbury | January 7, 1963 | January 1971 | Conservative | 63rd | |
| 64th | ||||||
| 65th | ||||||
| 66th | ||||||
| 44 | A.W. Dirlam | January 1971 | January 1973 | Conservative | 67th | |
| 45 | Martin Olav Sabo | January 1973 | January 1979 | DFL | Served as a U.S. Representative | 68th |
| 69th | ||||||
| 70th | ||||||
| 46 | Rod Searle | January 1979 | January 1980 | Independent-Republican | 71st | |
| 47 | Fred C. Norton | January 1980 | January 1981 | DFL | Served on Minnesota Court of Appeals | |
| 48 | Harry A. Sieben | January 1981 | January 1985 | DFL | 72nd | |
| 73rd | ||||||
| 49 | David M. Jennings | January 1985 | January 1987 | Independent-Republican | 74th | |
| 50 | Fred C. Norton | January 1987 | June 1987 | DFL | Served on Minnesota Court of Appeals | 75th |
| 51 | Robert Vanasek | June 1987 | January 6, 1992 | DFL | 75th | |
| 76th | ||||||
| 77th | ||||||
| 52 | Dee Long | January 6, 1992 | September 15, 1993 | DFL | First woman to serve as speaker. | 77th |
| 78th | ||||||
| 53 | Irv Anderson | September 1993 | January 1997 | DFL | 78th | |
| 79th | ||||||
| 54 | Phil Carruthers | January 1997 | January 1999 | DFL | 80th | |
| 55 | Steve Sviggum | January 1999 | January 2007 | Republican | 81st | |
| 82nd | ||||||
| 83rd | ||||||
| 84th | ||||||
| 56 | Margaret Anderson Kelliher | January 2007 | January 2011 | DFL | 85th | |
| 86th | ||||||
| 57 | Kurt Zellers | January 4, 2011 | January 8, 2013 | Republican | 87th | |
| 58 | Paul Thissen | January 8, 2013 | January 6, 2015 | DFL | 88th | |
| 59 | Kurt Daudt | January 6, 2015 | Republican | 89th |
Notes on Minnesota political party names
- Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party: On April 15, 1944 the state 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 (I-R). The party has always been affiliated with the national Republican Party.
In 1913, Minnesota legislators began to be elected on nonpartisan ballots. Nonpartisanship also was an historical accident that occurred in the 1913 session when a bill to provide for no party elections of judges and city and county officers was amended to include the Legislature in the belief that it would kill the bill. Legislators ran and caucused as "Liberals" or "Conservatives" roughly equivalent in most years to Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican, respectively. The law was changed in 1973, in 1974, House members again ran with party designation.
Speaker Emeritus
Under House rules, former speakers who are serving in the House are given the title of Speaker Emeritus. While the position has no formal power, the title is seen as a sign of respect for former speakers. Currently, Rep. Paul Thissen is serving as Speaker Emeritus.[1]
References
External links
- List of speakers at Minnesota Legislative Library
