Vern Larson Explained

Office3:South Dakota State Auditor
Term3:1979–2003
Office2:South Dakota State Treasurer
Party:Republican
Office1:South Dakota Commissioner of School and Public Lands
Term1:2013–2015
Term2:2003–2011
Birth Date:25 October 1948
Birth Place:Vivian, South Dakota
Alma Mater:Northern State University

Vernon L. Larson (born October 25, 1948, in Vivian, South Dakota) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the U.S. state of South Dakota.

Larson graduated from Vivian High School and received a degree from Northern State University, Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1970.

Larson began his career in politics as a South Dakota field staff member for U.S. Senator James Abdnor.

He served as South Dakota State Auditor from 1979 to 2003. He is the longest-serving constitutional officer in South Dakota's history, and in 1998, he was unopposed for re-election. This was the first time in South Dakota that a constitutional officer had no opposition in the general election.[1]

He was elected state treasurer in 2002 and assumed office on January 6, 2003.[2] He was re-elected in 2006, without opposition, and subsequently left office in 2011, subject to term limits of two consecutive four-year terms.

In August 2013, Governor Dennis Daugaard appointed Larson to serve out the remaining term as South Dakota's Commissioner of School and Public Lands after Commissioner Jarrod Johnson resigned. His term ended in January 2015. He became the first person in South Dakota history to serve in three different statewide executive offices.

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Notes and References

  1. Legislative Manual, South Dakota, 2005, p. 451.
  2. Legislative Manual, South Dakota, 2005, p. 451.