| Arne Helge Carlson | |
|---|---|
| 37th Governor of Minnesota | |
| In office January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999 |
|
| Lieutenant | Joanell Dyrstad (1991-1995) Joanne E. Benson (1995-1999) |
| Preceded by | Rudy Perpich |
| Succeeded by | Jesse Ventura |
| 14th Minnesota State Auditor | |
| In office January 4, 1979 – January 7, 1991 |
|
| Preceded by | Bob Mattson |
| Succeeded by | Mark Dayton |
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 58B | |
| In office January 2, 1973 – January 2, 1979 |
|
| Preceded by | District Created |
| Succeeded by | Todd Otis |
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 36 | |
| In office January 5, 1971 – January 1, 1973 |
|
| Preceded by | Thor Anderson |
| Succeeded by | District Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 24, 1934 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent-Republican / Republican |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Barbara Duffy (divorced) (2) Joanne Chabot (divorced) (3) Susan Shepard |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Protestant |
Arne Helge Carlson, Sr. (born September 24, 1934) is an American politician and the 37th Governor of the state of Minnesota.
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Born in New York City, the son of Swedish immigrants from Göteborg (father) and Visby (mother), Carlson attended The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut, and graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1957. He later attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Carlson was married to Barbara Carlson from 1965–1977. She became known in her own right after their divorce as a Minneapolis City Council member and a talk show personality. Together, they had a son, Tucker, (no relation to the MSNBC personality) and two daughters, Kristin (deceased) and Anne, who has two children, Allie and Drew Davis. His second wife was Joanne Chabot. They had no children. After their divorce, he married Susan Shepard, with whom he has a daughter, Jessica. Susan served as First Lady of Minnesota from 1991–1999.
Carlson served one term on the Minneapolis City Council from 1965–1967, and was the Republican candidate for mayor in 1967, losing to Democratic-Farmer-Labor incumbent Arthur Naftalin. He was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from January 1971-January 4, 1979. In 1978, he ran for and was elected state auditor. He was re-elected in 1982 and 1986, serving in that position from January 4, 1979–January 7, 1991.
Carlson was elected the 37th Governor of Minnesota in the November 1990 general election, and served from January 7, 1991–January 4, 1999. He won as a member of the Independent-Republican Party. In September 1995, the party changed its name to, simply, the "Republican Party."
Carlson's election followed a scandal arising after the initial Republican nominee, businessman Jon Grunseth, was accused of sexual improprieties that occurred several years prior with two then-underage girls and withdrew from the race nine days before the election. Carlson, who had started a write-in campaign when the improprieties first surfaced, had come in second in the primary to the more conservative Grunseth, and therefore when Grunseth dropped out of the race, became the Republican nominee.[1][2][3]
Generally considered a moderate, he presented himself as a less polarizing leader than the incumbent governor, Rudy Perpich. He managed to win the general election by 3 percentage points.
In 1993, he served as the Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association.
In 1994, the delegates to the Minnesota Republican Party State Convention viewed Carlson as too liberal, although he had switched his running mate to Joanne E. Benson, and endorsed instead Allen Quist and Doug McFarland. Carlson, however, went on to win the September state primary and faced Democrat John Marty in the November general election, winning by a large margin, 63% to 34%.
As governor, Carlson was well-known for being a big fan of University of Minnesota sports; his official portrait in the Minnesota State Capitol shows him wearing a letter jacket for the school.
Carlson has remained politically active in retirement. During a speech on October 23, 2008 at the state capitol, he endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.[4] In 2010, he announced that he would embark on a "Paul Revere" tour of Minnesota to bring attention to fiscal problems facing the state.[5] In 2010, he again broke with his party and endorsed Independence Party candidate Tom Horner in Minnesota's gubernatorial race[6] and Tim Walz for Congress.[7] In a narrowly passed vote by the state Republican central committee, Carlson and 17 others were banned for 2 years from participating in party events, described by Politico as a "stunning purge."[8]
Following the July 1, 2011 shut down of the state government after Governor Mark Dayton and state legislative leaders could not agree on a budget, Carlson teamed with Walter Mondale and several prominent political and business leaders to propose forming a non-partisan budget commission.[9]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rudy Perpich |
Governor of Minnesota 1991 – 1999 |
Succeeded by Jesse Ventura |
| Preceded by Robert W. Mattson, Jr. |
State Auditor of Minnesota 1979 – 1991 |
Succeeded by Mark Dayton |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jon Grunseth |
Repulican nominee for Governor of Minnesota October–November 1990, 1994 |
Succeeded by Norm Coleman |
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