Harold Gene Van Maanen (July 28, 1929 – October 12, 2021) was an American politician in the state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. Van Maanen was born in

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U.S. Cens ...

, the son of Gilbert and Cora (née Van Hall) Van Maanen, and married Luella Rose Groenendyk on February 23, 1950, in

Tracy, Iowa Tracy is an unincorporated community in eastern Marion County, Iowa, United States. It lies along local roads east of the city of Knoxville, the county seat of Marion County. Its elevation is 784 feet (239 m). Although Tracy is uninco ...

. He was drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, and served from 1952 to 1954. He was a farmer, but was involved in civic life, serving on the school board for

Twin Cedars Community School District The Twin Cedars Community School District is a rural public school district headquartered northwest of Bussey, Iowa. The district spans eastern Marion County and western Mahaska County. The district serves the towns of Bussey, Hamilton, Ma ...

for 16 years. He served in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from 1979 to 1999 as a Republican. He served as Republican minority leader from 1990 to 1992, speaker from 1993 to 1995, and speaker pro tempore from 1995 to 1999. Following his first wife's death in 1993, he married Marie (née Beekhuizen) Engbers in 1997. He died in

Pella, Iowa Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States, with a population of 10,464 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day use ...

, on October 12, 2021.

References

1929 births 2021 deaths People from Oskaloosa, Iowa Farmers from Iowa Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives {{Iowa-politician-stub