Brian Rude (August 25, 1955 –) is a Wisconsin politician and businessman. Born in

Viroqua, Wisconsin Viroqua is the county seat of Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,504 at the 2020 census. The city is in the town of Viroqua. Etymology The town was originally named “Farwell” after Leonard J. Farwell, second Go ...

, Rude graduated from Luther College and received a MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison . Prior to being elected to the

Wisconsin State Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

, he worked at

Trane Trane is a manufacturer of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, along with building management systems and controls. The company is a subsidiary of Trane Technologies, a company focused on manufacturing HVAC and refrigerat ...

. He was elected first to 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, ...

in 1982 and then the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

in 1984 where he was the President of the Senate on two occasions. In 2000 he retired from the Legislature. From 2000 to 2020 he worked at Dairyland Power as Vice President of External and Member Relations. He has served as Chair of the Greater La Crosse Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Board of Aptiv, President of the Wisconsin Historical Society and President of the Norwegian-American Historical Association.

Notes

1955 births Living people People from Viroqua, Wisconsin Presidents of the Wisconsin Senate Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Luther College (Iowa) alumni {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-stub