The president of the Minnesota Senate is the presiding officer 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 h ...

. Until 1973, the

Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota The lieutenant governor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Fifty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor since statehood. The incumbent is Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic- ...

served as the Senate president. Since then, presidents have been elected by the body, usually at the nomination of the majority. While power within the Senate lies primarily with the

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 nam ...

, the president of the Senate does succeed to Lieutenant Governor in the event that office becomes vacant, something which happened most recently in 2018. From statehood until 1973, the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

served as president. Not all lieutenant governors served at the same time as the Senate was in session. Those who served as President were: Beginning in 1973, the Minnesota Senate began electing its own presidents. Those who have served since 1973 are: ¹In accordance with the

Minnesota Constitution The Constitution of the State of Minnesota was initially approved by the residents of Minnesota Territory in a special election held on October 13, 1857, and was ratified by the United States Senate on May 11, 1858, marking the admittance of Minne ...

, Fischbach automatically became

on January 3, 2018, after previous Lt. Gov.

Tina Smith Christine Elizabeth Smith (née Flint, born March 4, 1958) is an American politician, retired Democratic political consultant, and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Minnesota since 2018. She is a member of th ...

resigned to accept an appointment to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

. Fischbach formally resigned from the Minnesota Senate on May 25, 2018. As the Senate did not meet during this time, the position was vacant until Jeremy Miller was formally elected in January 2019.

Notes on Minnesota political party names

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party 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 i ...

: On April 15, 1944 the state Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged and created the

(DFL). It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.

References

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Minnesota Senate President and President Pro Tempore, 1849-