George Albert Sinner (May 29, 1928 – March 9, 2018) was an American politician who served as the
29th governor of North Dakota
The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.
The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Secti ...
from 1985 to 1992. He served two four-year terms and was the most recent governor of North Dakota from his party, the
North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party
The North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party (abbreviated Democratic-NPL or simply D-NPL) is the North Dakota affiliate of the national Democratic Party. It was formed as the outcome of a merger of two parties; the state previously had ...
.
Early life and education
Sinner was born on May 29, 1928,
[Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1983–1988](_blank)
/ref> in Fargo and was raised in Casselton, the youngest of four children to Albert Francis Sinner (1893–1965), a farmer and bookkeeper for Ford Motor Co., and his wife, Katherine Augusta Wild (1886–1981).
Sinner attended Saint John's Preparatory School, a college prep boarding school in Collegeville, Minnesota
Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, near St. Joseph. The community is located near the junction of Collegeville Road and Old Collegeville Road. Nearby is Saint John's Abb ...
, graduating in 1946. In 1950, he received a degree in philosophy from Saint John's University in Collegeville. He served in the United States Air National Guard
The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
with the 178th Fighter Squadron
The 178th Attack Squadron (178 ATKS) is a unit of the North Dakota Air National Guard 119th Wing located at Fargo Air National Guard Base, North Dakota. The 178th is equipped with the MQ-9 Reaper.
The squadron operates General Atomics MQ-1 Pr ...
from 1950 to 1951 before beginning a career in politics in the late 1950s.
Sinner received honorary doctorate degrees from North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...
, University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...
and his alma mater, St. John's University.[
]
Career
Sinner was elected to the North Dakota Senate
The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives.
Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts appo ...
in 1962.[ He served one four-year term until 1966, and failed to win reelection.][George A. Sinner – North Dakota Governors Online Exhibit – Exhibits – State Historical Society of North Dakota]
Retrieved January 18, 2010. He also ran for United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
in North Dakota's 1st congressional district
North Dakota's 1st congressional district is an obsolete congressional district in the state of North Dakota that existed from 1913 to 1933, and from 1963 to 1973.
History
Prior to 1913, North Dakota elected two members of the United States House ...
against Mark Andrews in 1964.
Coming from a background of farming, Sinner served as president of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association Board from 1975 to 1979. During that time, he chaired an ad hoc farm commodity group that was responsible for funding and constructing the greenhouse complex and the Northern Crops Institute at North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...
in Fargo. He served as a member of many other boards and organizations, including the North Dakota Broadcasting Council and the State Board of Higher Education. During his time on the State Board of Higher Education, he helped craft the "Tri-college" system currently used by NDSU
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...
, MSUM
Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities ...
and Concordia College, Moorhead
Concordia College is a private college in Moorhead, Minnesota. Founded by Norwegian settlers in 1891, the school is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and practices the liberal arts. Concordia is accredited by the Higher ...
. This program allows students attending one of the schools to take classes not offered there at one of the others.[
]
Governor of North Dakota
Sinner was elected governor of North Dakota
The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.
The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Secti ...
in 1984 and reelected in 1988. The starting date of Sinner's first term was disputed with defeated outgoing Governor Allen I. Olson. Sinner held that the term started January 1 and Olson held that the term began on January 6, four years after his own term began. At that time, the date was not clearly set forth in either state law or the state constitution. The North Dakota Supreme Court
The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts.
Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...
settled the issue in Sinner's favor on January 5, 1985, one day before Olson would have vacated office anyway. Olson failed to comply with the decision and did not vacate the governor's office until the following day, but Sinner's term was retroactively recognized to have begun on January 1.
During Sinner's governorship, North Dakota suffered through the 1980s Midwestern farm crisis and in 1989 celebrated the state's centennial. The North Dakota National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
was also called to serve in the Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
in 1991 as part of Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
. In Sinner's memoir, "Turning Points," published in 2011, he explains his rationale for declaring the nation's first no-smoking policy in a state capitol building and also details the emergency, middle-of-the-night
heart flight
he ordered to deliver a donor heart to a waiting infant recipient in San Francisco. The infant continues to thrive. Sinner did not seek a third term and was succeeded by 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 ...
Ed Schafer
Edward Thomas Schafer (born August 8, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who was the 30th governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000. Schafer also served as the 29th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2008 to 2009, appoint ...
.[
]
Later career
Following his second term, Sinner served as Vice President of Public and Government Relations for the Crystal Sugar Company in Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead () is a city in and county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several ...
. Throughout his career, he remained active in his farming operation near Casselton. Sinner's son George B. Sinner served in the North Dakota Senate
The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives.
Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts appo ...
from 2013 to 2017.
Personal life
Sinner was married to Elizabeth Jane "Jane" Baute on August 10, 1951, and had 10 children (Robert, George, Elizabeth, Martha, Paula, Mary Jo, James, Gerard, Joseph, and Eric). He died on March 9, 2018, at age 89, at Eventide Senior Living Communities, in Fargo, North Dakota. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving North Dakota governor from the Democratic-NPL party.
References
External links
Jane Sinner Papers at The University of North Dakota
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinner, George
1928 births
2018 deaths
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University alumni
Democratic Party governors of North Dakota
Military personnel from North Dakota
Democratic Party North Dakota state senators
People from Cass County, North Dakota
Politicians from Fargo, North Dakota
Writers from North Dakota
20th-century American politicians