Mary Elizabeth Anderson Pawlenty (born January 13, 1961) is a former American state court judge who served on Minnesota's First Judicial District from 1994 to 2007. The wife of Governor

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty (; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 39th governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House o ...

, she was First Lady of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. She previously worked as a private-practice attorney and in 2009 became director at a medical nonprofit. She has been a mediator with Gilbert Mediation since 2007.

Early life and education

Mary Anderson was raised in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

. In 1979, she graduated from Edina-East High School. In 1983, she graduated from Bethel University, earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, summa cum laude. She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...

—where she met

—in 1986.

Legal career

Following graduation, Anderson practiced law in Houston, Texas for one year. She then returned to Minnesota to marry Tim Pawlenty. They settled in

Eagan, Minnesota Eagan ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota. It is south of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul and lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and the ...

. In 1994, Mary was appointed as a Judge of the

District Court of Minnesota The District Court of Minnesota is the state trial court of general jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Jurisdiction of the court The Minnesota Constitution provides that the district court has original jurisdiction in civil and crimina ...

for

Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...

in Hastings, Minnesota by Governor

Arne Carlson Arne Helge Carlson (born September 24, 1934) is an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of Minnesota. A Republican, Carlson's viewpoints are considered to be moderate. He first won election to the governors office in 1990. Carlso ...

. She and her husband began raising their two daughters, Anna (born 1993) and Mara.

First Lady of Minnesota

The family remained at their Eagan home instead of taking the Governor's Residence after Tim Pawlenty was elected

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

in 2002 due to Mary's requirement to stay in her judicial district. As First Lady of Minnesota, Mary Pawlenty established a web-based program that facilitated the connection between community-based organizations willing to volunteer their time and services and the families of deployed servicemen and women - an initiative that is continued by the Minnesota National Guard as a nationally recognized model for web-based and community support for military families, known as Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.

Leaving the judicial bench

In January 2007, after her husband was sworn into his second term as governor, Judge Pawlenty announced that she was leaving the bench on February 12, 2007. She began work at the

National Arbitration Forum Forum, formerly known as the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) is an American organization that provides arbitration and mediation services to businesses, based at its Minneapolis headquarters and offices in New Jersey. The organization was founde ...

shortly thereafter as its

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

in charge of the National Arbitration Forum's legal affairs. However, she quit her position with National Arbitration Forum and in September, 2007 Pawlenty became a mediator with the Gilbert Mediation Center, where she assists parties in settling disputes, both before and during civil litigation. From January 2009 to January 2010, she was the director of medical diplomacy at Children's HeartLink, an international medical nonprofit organisation.

References

External links

Mary Pawlenty biography and photosThe Sacrifices of Mary Pawlenty in ''The Atlantic''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawlenty, Mary 1961 births Living people People from Edina, Minnesota Bethel University (Minnesota) alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni Texas lawyers People from Eagan, Minnesota Minnesota lawyers Women in Minnesota politics First Ladies and Gentlemen of Minnesota American women judges Minnesota state court judges People from Hastings, Minnesota Dispute resolution Minnesota Republicans Edina High School alumni