Tony Lourey (born August 15, 1967) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician. He is a former Minnesota commissioner of human services and former Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

, representing District 11.

Early life, education, and career

Lourey was born in

Pine County, Minnesota Pine County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 28,876. Its county seat is Pine City, Minnesota, Pine City. The county was formed in 1856 and or ...

. He attended 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 ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Hamline University School of Law Hamline University School of Law was a private law school affiliated with Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The School of Law was founded in 1972 as the Midwestern School of Law by a group of legal professionals. In 1976, Midwestern ...

, and

William Mitchell College of Law William Mitchell College of Law was a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, from 1956 to 2015. Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of ...

, graduating with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 2011. Before his election to the Senate, he was a township supervisor of Kerrick Township for eight years.

Political career

Lourey was elected to the

in 2006 to represent District 8, succeeding his mother,

Becky Lourey Becky Lourey (born September 24, 1943) is an American politician, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) state senator and state representative, and a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate. Her son Matt served in the U.S. Army ...

. He was reelected in 2010. After redistricting, he was elected to represent District 11—which included

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

and

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

counties and parts of Kanabec and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

counties in the northeast—in 2012 and reelected in 2016. He resigned on January 3, 2019, after Governor

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz ...

selected him as commissioner of human services.

Personal life

Lourey and his wife, Marlana Benzie-Lourey, have three children. They are the owners of the Askov American newspaper, which was founded by former legislator and governor

Hjalmar Petersen Hjalmar Petersen (January 2, 1890March 29, 1968) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Minnesota, 23rd Governor of Minnesota. Background Hjalmar Petersen was born in Eskildstrup, Denmark to Lauritz and Anna Petersen, ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lourey, Tony 1967 births Living people University of Minnesota alumni People from Pine County, Minnesota Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Hamline University School of Law alumni 21st-century American politicians