Betty Jo Nelsen (born October 11, 1935) is a retired American politician and former Minority Leader of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, she represented the northeastern suburbs of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

from 1979 until 1990 in the Assembly. She left the Assembly to accept an appointment in the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

of President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

as Administrator of the

Food and Nutrition Service The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The FNS is the federal agency responsible for administering the nation’s domestic nutrition assistance programs. The service helps to add ...

within the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

Biography

Nelsen graduated from

Dedham High School Dedham High School is a public high school in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States, and a part of the Dedham Public Schools district. The school was founded in 1851 by the oldest public school system in the country. It earned a silver medal from '' ...

and the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

, in 1957. She is married with three children and resides in

Shorewood, Wisconsin Shorewood is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 13,859 at the 2020 census. History In the early 19th century when the first European American settlers arrived, the Shorewood area was controlled by Nativ ...

Career

Nelsen was first elected to the Assembly as a

in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

in July 1979. She was chosen by the Republican caucus as Minority Leader for the 1987-1988 session of the Assembly. Nelsen was re-elected five times, and remained a member of the Assembly until 1990, when she resigned to accept appointment to the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George H. W. Bush appointed her as Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture in January 1990. She served in that role until the days after Bush's defeat in the 1992 presidential election, when she resigned and returned to the Milwaukee area. During 1992, President Bush had nominated her to become Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Food and Consumer Services as well as a member of the board of directors of the

Commodity Credit Corporation The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices" (federally chartered by the CCC Charter Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-806) ...

, but her nomination did not receive a vote by the

United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of all matters relating to the nation's agriculture industry, farming programs, forestry and logging, and legi ...

, and was returned without action when the Senate adjourned in October 1992. After returning to Wisconsin, she was appointed by Governor

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American Republican politician who most recently served as interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served ...

to serve on the state Natural Resources Board.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelsen, Betty Jo Politicians from Boston Politicians from Dedham, Massachusetts People from Shorewood, Wisconsin 1935 births Living people