William J. "Bill" O'Brien (February 19, 1930 in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

– June 25, 2007) was 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 ...

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 ...

politician, who served as

Minnesota State Auditor The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a DFLer. Election and t ...

and a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

. O'Brien also unsuccessfully sought the office of

Minnesota Secretary of State The secretary of state of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Twenty-two individuals have held the office of secretary of state since statehood. The incumbent is Steve Simon, ...

. Born in

, O'Brien moved to Minnesota in his youth. He graduated from St. Paul Academy, and went on to college at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, where he studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. He returned to Minnesota to complete his education, earning a degree in finance. He later worked as an investment counselor. O'Brien was elected to the

in 1962, and again in 1964. In 1969, he was appointed to the office of

by Gov. Harold LeVander. O'Brien had four daughters and one stepdaughter; he was married twice. He died in 2007.Minnesota Legislators Past and Present
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References

Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 2007 deaths Cornell University alumni 1930 births 20th-century American politicians {{Minnesota-politician-stub