Joseph Repya (born 1946) is a

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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politician, and a retired

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in the U.S. Army. Repya served as an infantry rifle platoon leader during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

from 1970 to 1971. He later served as a helicopter pilot during Operation Desert Shield/Storm from 1990 to 1991. After retiring, Repya came out of retirement and returned to active duty from 2004 to 2006, at the age of 59 he served in Baghdad, Iraq in

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

in 2005. Repya has been active in Minnesota politics for some time. In 2003, he distributed 30,000 Support Our Troop lawn signs and organized demonstrations in support of the U.S. military. He served as a delegate from Minnesota to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 2004 and 2008, and in 2007 ran unsuccessfully for chair of the

Minnesota Republican Party The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

. He left the party in June 2009, saying the party had become "dysfunctional." He was a candidate for the Independence Party nomination for

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. ...

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, withdrawing before the primary. Repya is married to Deb, an attorney, and has two grown daughters and one granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Repya, Joe 1946 births Living people Minnesota Republicans United States Army aviators Military personnel from Minnesota Independence Party of Minnesota politicians United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army personnel of the Iraq War