Kari Dziedzic ( ; born 1962) is an American politician, and the

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 60, which includes portions of the city of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in Hennepin County. Her district is also notable for including part of 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 ...

. In 2022, she was selected by her caucus to serve as Senate Majority Leader for the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. She previously served as executive assistant to U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone.

Early life, education, and career

Dziedzic is the daughter of Walt Dziedzic, a longtime

Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms, via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections ...

member, Minneapolis Park Board member, and police inspector. Her brother is retired NHL player Joe Dziedzic. She attended Edison High School in Minneapolis, and received a degree in

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 ...

from the

. Dziedzic entered politics as an aide to U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone. Afterward, she worked for Hennepin County, first as communications director for the Hennepin County Attorney, then as a policy aide for County Commissioner Mark Stenglein. In the private sector, Dziedzic was an executive assistant to Minnesota North Stars owner Norm Green. She filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him in 1993, which was settled out of court.

Minnesota Senate

Dziedzic was elected in a special election on January 10, 2012, and reelected in November 2012. She succeeded former

Minnesota Senate Majority Leader This is a list of majority leaders of the Minnesota Senate. The Majority Leader is the head of the majority party in the Minnesota Senate, and is the most powerful political figure in the body. List Notes on Minnesota political party name ...

Larry Pogemiller Lawrence "Larry" J. Pogemiller (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician from Minnesota, and the Commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he represented northeast ...

, who had resigned to take a position in the administration of Governor Mark Dayton. Dziedzic was reelected in 2016, 2020, and 2022. After the DFL retook the Senate majority in the

2022 Minnesota Senate election The 2022 Minnesota Senate election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 8, 2022, to elect members of the Senate of the 93rd Minnesota Legislature. A primary election was held in several districts on August 9, 2022. The election coi ...

, Dziedzic was selected to serve as majority leader.

References

External links

Senator Kari Dziedzic
''official Minnesota Senate website''
Senator Kari Dziedzic
''official campaign website'' , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dziedzic, Kari 1962 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Edison High School (Minnesota) alumni Living people Politicians from Minneapolis University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni Women state legislators in Minnesota