List of minority leaders of the Minnesota House of Representatives explained

Post:Minority Leader
Body:the Minnesota House of Representatives
Insignia:Seal of Minnesota.svg
Incumbent:Lisa Demuth
Incumbentsince:January 3, 2023
Termlength:Two years, no term limit
Inaugural:Winslow W. Dunn

This is a list of minority leaders of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Name Took office Left office Party/caucus
Charles L. Halstead19451947Liberal
Joseph L Prifrel19471949Liberal
Edwin J. Chilgren19491951Liberal
Fred A. Cina19511955Liberal
John A. Hartle19551957Conservative
Odin E. S. Langen19571959Conservative
Lloyd L. Duxbury19591963Conservative
Fred A. Cina19631969Liberal
Martin Olav Sabo19691973Liberal
Aubrey W. Dirlam19731975Republican
Henry J. Savelkoul19751979Independent-Republican
None[1] 19791980 
Rod Searle19801981Independent-Republican
Glen Sherwood19811982Independent-Republican
David M. Jennings19821985Independent-Republican
Fred Norton19851987Democratic-Farmer-Labor
William R. Schreiber19871991Independent-Republican
Terry Dempsey19911993Independent-Republican
Steve Sviggum19931999Independent-Republican/Republican
Tom Pugh19992003Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Matt Entenza20032006Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Margaret Anderson Kelliher20062007Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Marty Seifert20072009Republican
Kurt Zellers20092011Republican
Paul Thissen20112013Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Kurt Daudt20132015Republican
Paul Thissen20152017Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Melissa Hortman20172019Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Kurt Daudt20192023Republican
Lisa Demuth2023IncumbentRepublican

Notes on Minnesota political party names

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.

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.

Notes

  1. From 1979 to 1980, the House was evenly divided.

References

Minnesota Legislative Reference Library