J. Robert "Bob" Stassen (August 15, 1927 – October 15, 2015) was an American businessman,

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister, and politician.

Early life and education

Stassen was born in

West St. Paul, Minnesota West St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 20,615 at the 2020 census. It is immediately south of Saint Paul and immediately west of South St. Paul. History The city's misleading name comes in part fro ...

; his uncle was

Harold Stassen Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was an American politician who was the 25th Governor of Minnesota. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1948, considered for a ti ...

, who served as

governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

. Stassen graduated from

South St. Paul High School South St. Paul Secondary (also known as South St. Paul High School) is a public high school in South St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the South St. Paul Public Schools district, and is an International Baccalaureate World School ...

and then served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1951, Stassen received his Bachelor of Arts degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He received a specialist degree from the Bethel Seminary and attended the William Mitchell College of Law.

Career

Stassen worked in the life insurance and banking businesses. He was also the president of the West St. Paul State Bank. From 1973 to 1976, Stassen served in the Minnesota Senate as a Republican. In 1974, Stassen was the Republican nominee for Minnesota state treasurer, losing to

Jim Lord James Frank Lord (November 26, 1948 – June 6, 2008) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Minnesota state treasurer from 1975 to 1983. Early life and education Born in Chanhassen, Minnesota, Lord was the son of United State ...

. In 1981, Stassen was appointed to the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Personal life

Stassen died in West St. Paul, Minnesota.

References

1927 births 2015 deaths People from West St. Paul, Minnesota University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni William Mitchell College of Law alumni Baptist ministers from the United States Businesspeople from Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota Republican Party Minnesota state senators 20th-century American businesspeople {{Minnesota-politician-stub