Mathias Dahl (January 6, 1884 – August 3, 1976) was a

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

politician who was well known for his tenure as the

North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor The North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor was an elected official who headed the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and Labor. The office was established with the state's constitution in 1889, and was split into two separate offices ...

from 1939 to 1964. His long tenure in the office ended a period of instability in the department when the three previous commissioners only served one two-year term. He re-elected a total of twelve times, and was one of the most prominent

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 ...

Non-Partisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan League advocat ...

(NPL) politicians in the state.

Biography

Mathias Dahl was born on January 6, 1884, in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. He came to America in 1902, and homesteaded in

Emmons County, North Dakota Emmons County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,301. Its county seat has been Linton since 1899. History The county was created by the Dakota Territory legislature on February 10, 1879, ...

in 1904. He served in the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as d ...

from 1931 to 1937, and was the Speaker of the House in 1937. He was elected as the

in 1938, and he served until 1965 when he retired. Dahl was one of the most prominent Republican/NPL politicians in the state. When the NPL dissolved, he joined the

North Dakota Republican Party The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party. Its platform is conservative. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling North Dakota's at-large U.S. House seat, both U.S. ...

. During his life, Dahl was a member of the Lutheran Church, the Farmers Union,

Sons of Norway Sons of Norway ( no, Sønner av Norge), founded in 1895 as the Independent Order of the Sons of Norway, is a fraternal organization principally representing people of Norwegian heritage in the United States and Canada. The organization include ...

, and the

Masonic Order Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He was married to Ragna Madland of Wing, North Dakota.North Dakota Blue Book, 1954 Dahl died at the age of 92 in 1976.

Notes

1884 births 1976 deaths American Lutherans North Dakota Commissioners of Agriculture and Labor Norwegian emigrants to the United States Nonpartisan League politicians Speakers of the North Dakota House of Representatives Republican Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Lutherans {{NorthDakota-politician-stub