Andrew R. Lang is an American politician and Republican member of the Minnesota Senate. He represents District 17, which includes portions of Chippewa, Kandiyohi,

Renville Renville may refer to: ;Places In the United States: * Renville, Minnesota * Renville County, Minnesota * Renville County, North Dakota ;People *Joseph Renville *Gabriel Renville Gabriel Renville (April 1825 – August 26, 1892), also known a ...

, and Swift Counties in west-central Minnesota. Lang is a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the Minnesota Army National Guard.

Early life, education, and career

Lang grew up in

Kandiyohi, Minnesota Kandiyohi ( ) is a city in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 491 at the 2010 census. History Kandiyohi was laid out in 1869, when the railroad was extended to that point. In 1869 the Minnesota legislature voted Kan ...

, and graduated from Willmar High School in 1997. He attended

Ridgewater College Ridgewater College is a public community college in Willmar and Hutchinson, Minnesota Hutchinson is the largest city in McLeod County, Minnesota, United States. It lies along the South Fork of the Crow River. The population was 14,599 at the ...

before transferring to

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximately ...

, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in aviation science and management. Lang joined the Minnesota Army National Guard in 2002 and became a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

in 2003. He was stationed in Balad, Iraq, from April 2007 to August 2008. In June 2014, he participated in

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and later

Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the International military intervention against IS, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely-related campaign in Libya. Throu ...

. Lang is a

and a logistics officer in the 34th Aviation Brigade. In addition to flying

Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus ur ...

helicopters for the National Guard, he is a pilot for North Memorial Health Air Care. He was previously the parks supervisor for Renville County.

Minnesota Senate

In his first run for public office, Lang was elected to the Minnesota Senate in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, defeating DFL incumbent

Lyle Koenen Lyle J. Koenen (born June 16, 1956) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 17, which included portions of Chippewa, Kandiyo ...

. Lang serves as vice chair of the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee.

Personal life

Lang and his wife, Susan, have two children and reside in Olivia. They are members of the Cross of Calvary Lutheran Church in Olivia.

References

External links

Official Senate website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Andrew Living people Republican Party Minnesota state senators 21st-century American legislators People from Kandiyohi County, Minnesota People from Olivia, Minnesota 1979 births Lutherans from Minnesota 21st-century Minnesota politicians