Office Dates: Jan 02, 1961 - Mar 15, 1963
Born: Jun 17, 1909
Passed: Nov 15, 2004
Birth State: Illinois
Party: Republican
Family: Married Eleanor Johnson; three children
School(s): University of Minnesota
ELMER L. ANDERSONJ, the thirtieth governor of Minnesota, was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 17, 1909. His education was attained at Muskegon Junior College, and at the University of Minnesota, where he earned a business degree in 1931. He established a successful career with the H.B. Fuller Company, first working in the marketing department and eventually becoming the owner and president of the company. Anderson entered politics in 1949, serving as a member of the Minnesota State Senate, a position he held ten years. He next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote on November 8, 1960. During his tenure, a fair housing bill was sanctioned; a statewide sanitary law was authorized; highway safety measures were initiated; and a governmental ethics act was instituted. After running unsuccessfully for reelection, in a very close race, Anderson left office on March 15, 1963. He continued to stay politically active, serving as a delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention, as well as serving as the chairman of the Minnesota Constitutional Study Commission. Anderson later went into the publishing business. He combined two newspapers into the Princeton Union-Eagle, and purchased ECM Publishing, which produced twenty newspapers a week. Governor Elmer L. Anderson passed away on November 15, 2004, and was buried in the Hillside Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Sources:
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.