John Steven Lesmeister (October 3, 1955
– February 28, 2006
) was a
North Dakota politician who served as the 30th
North Dakota State Treasurer from 1981 to 1984.
Biography
Lesmeister was born in
Dickinson, North Dakota, and grew up in
Halliday, North Dakota
Halliday is a city in Dunn County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 241 at the 2020 census. Halliday was founded in 1914.
Halliday was originally two miles farther north. It moved in 1914 to be near the new Mandan to Killdeer rai ...
, where he was graduated from high school in 1973.
After earning a history and English degree four years later from the
University of Mary in
Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...
, he sold
real estate and was Mary's admissions coordinator before he ran for state treasurer. He won the
Republican endorsement in 1980 at age 25.
A Republican, Lesmeister was elected state treasurer in 1980, narrowly defeating incumbent
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Bob Hanson. Hanson ran against Lesmeister four years later and ousted him in another close race.
After the loss, Lesmeister ran unsuccessfully for
state labor commissioner in 1986—it was an elected office at the time—and briefly sought Republican support two years later to run for
secretary of state.
He moved to
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...
, in 1990, where he worked at
Innovis Health and as a
substitute teacher
A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is absent or unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, maternal leave and so on. "Substitute teacher" (usually abbreviated as "sub") is the most co ...
.
Lesmeister died in Fargo, North Dakota, on February 28, 2006, of
natural causes
In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesmeister, John
1955 births
2006 deaths
State treasurers of North Dakota
University of Mary alumni
People from Dickinson, North Dakota
People from Dunn County, North Dakota
North Dakota Republicans
20th-century American politicians