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Minnesota Humanities Commission

Elmer L. Andersen

Biographical Notes

Date of birth: June 17, 1909, Chicago, Illinois

Elmer Lee Andersen. Thirtieth governor of Minnesota, corporation executive, newspaper publisher. Graduated in 1928 from Muskegon (Mich.), Junior College. B.A., University of Minnesota, 1931. Came to Minnesota to work as a school furniture salesman, 1923-34. Joined H. B. Fuller Company, St. Paul, in advertising and sales promotion, 1934-37. Sales manager, 1937-41; president, 1941-61; president and chairman of the board, 1963-71; chairman of the board and chief executive officer, 1971-74; chairman of the board 1974-94. Owner and publisher, Princeton Union-Eagle, 1976-97; publisher, Sun Newspapers, Minneapolis, 1978-84. Minnesota State Senate (IR), 1949-59; governor of Minnesota, 1961-63. Legislative achievements in fair employment practices, metropolitan planning, workmen's compensation, taconite development, and education and welfare. Director of banks and corporations. Regent, University of Minnesota; president, Child Welfare League of America; member, National Parks Centennial Commission; president, Voyageurs National Park Association; board member, Bush Foundation, 1968-82; board member, Charles Lindbergh Foundation, 1977-87; board member, Council on Foundations 1971-77. Outstanding Achievement Award, University of Minnesota, 1959. Honorable Litt.D., Macalester College, 1965; Minnesota Business Hall of Fame, 1977.

Selected Works

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Additional Resources

Sources used to prepare this author entry

The following bibliography may include links to Web sites that are no longer operable or have changed location. The sources are shown as they existed in the fall of 1999 when the entries were compiled.
  • Barsness, Edward. "Our Minnesota Governors and How They Serve the People." St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1975.
  • Corporate Report Who's Who in Upper Midwest Business. p. 8. Minneapolis: Corporate Report, 1976.
  • Minneapolis Tribune, 2 Feb. 1967, p. 1.
  • St. Paul Dispatch, 16 Apr. 1969, p. 50.
  • St. Paul Pioneer Press, 13 Nov. 1960, p. 1.
  • Treuer, Robert. Voyageur Country: A Park in the Wilderness. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979.
  • Who's Who in America. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1978-79, p. 65.
  • Who's Who in American Politics, 1967-68. New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1967.
  • Who's Who in American Politics, 1969-70. New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1969.
  • Who's Who in the Midwest. Chicago: The A. N. Marquis Co., 1949.
  • Who's Who in the Midwest, 1963-64. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who Inc., 1963.
This pilot database compiled and maintained by the Minnesota Historical Society.
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