William R. "Bill" Ojala (January 23, 1925 – January 6, 2018) was an American politician and lawyer. Born in

Eveleth, Minnesota Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth. Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...

, Ojala served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He then received his bachelor's degree from

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 ...

and his law degree from

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 ...

. He practiced law in

Aurora, Minnesota Aurora is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,682 at the 2010 census. Saint Louis County Highways 100 and 110 and State Highway 135 are three of the main routes in Aurora. History Aurora was laid ou ...

. Ojala served on the school board and as county commissioner for

St. Louis County, Minnesota St. Louis County is a county located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 200,231. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county in Minnesota by land area, and the largest in t ...

. Ojala served in 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 ...

as a

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 ...

from 1971 to 1974. In 1974, Ojala ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and lost the election. Ojala died on January 6, 2018, at the age of 92.

Notes

1925 births 2018 deaths People from Eveleth, Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni William Mitchell College of Law alumni Minnesota lawyers County commissioners in Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II School board members in Minnesota Candidates in the 1974 United States elections People from Aurora, Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota 20th-century American lawyers {{Minnesota-politician-stub