Wayne Stenehjem ( ; February 5, 1953 – January 28, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, ...

. He was the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of the state, serving from December 15, 2000 until his death. He sought the Republican nomination for

governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Secti ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

but lost the primary on June 14 by 20%.

Biography

Stenehjem was born in

Mohall, North Dakota Mohall is a city in Renville County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Renville County. The population was 694 at the 2020 census. Mohall is part of the Minot Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Mohall was founded in 1 ...

. He graduated from

Bismarck High School Bismarck High School (BHS) is a public high school located in Bismarck, North Dakota. It currently serves 1,197 students and is a part of the Bismarck Public Schools system. The grades offered at Bismarck High school are ninth through twelfth. T ...

in 1971 and

Bismarck State College Bismarck State College (BSC) is a public college in Bismarck, North Dakota. It is the third largest college in the North Dakota University System with 3,781 students as of September 2016. Established in 1939, it is a comprehensive community c ...

in 1972. He attended the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

and the UND School of Law, graduating in 1977. Stenehjem was elected to the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as d ...

in 1976, and served two terms there until 1980, when he was elected to the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts appo ...

. He served in that capacity until 2000, when he became

Attorney General of North Dakota The North Dakota Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the North Dakota state government. The Attorney General's office represents the state government in court cases and issues opinions of points of law upon request. Drew Wrigley was appo ...

. As Attorney General, Stenehjem proposed legislation to curb

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamp ...

use and addiction in the state, by restricting retail sales of certain products used in its manufacture, providing mandatory treatment for first-time drug offenders, and increasing criminal penalties for drug offenders. Stenehjem was reelected in 2004, 2006, 2010,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

and 2018 by wide margins. Before his death, he had announced he would not run for reelection in 2022. He was married to Beth Bakke Stenehjem, and had one son, Andrew. He was the brother of

Majority Leader

Bob Stenehjem Robert "Bob" Stenehjem ( ; January 12, 1952 – July 18, 2011) was a North Dakota Republican politician, serving in the North Dakota Senate for District 30. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2001 until his death in 2011. Stenehjem ran for ...

(1952–2011) and former

member Allan Stenehjem (who is now a lobbyist). Stenehjem was hospitalized in Bismarck for an inflamed ulcer on January 28, 2022. He died later that day, at the age of 68.

Career

(1976–1980) *

(1980–2000) **Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (1995–2000) * North Dakota Attorney General (2000–2022)

Controversies

In 2014, Agent Arnie Rummel, who worked under the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, under the supervision of the Attorney General's office, was charged in Dickey County District Court with two misdemeanors. Business owner Darrell Schrum accused Rummel of violating his constitutional rights when the BCI damaged personal property and seized Schrum's payloader and transported it out of state. Rummel had secured a warrant to seize the equipment, suspected as stolen, and Stenehjem's office defended Rummel in the long-running dispute that ensued. Stenehjem said, "All he did was return a payloader that was stolen to the rightful owner." But Schrum's attorney argued that the trucking company Rummel gave the loader to had no legal ownership and that the search warrant required Rummel only to deliver the loader to the court. Rummel was found in contempt of court and the case resulted in a cash settlement for Schrum, as the payloader was found to have been unlawfully seized.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenehjem, Wayne 1953 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American people of Norwegian descent Deaths from ulcers Republican Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives North Dakota Attorneys General Republican Party North Dakota state senators People from Renville County, North Dakota University of North Dakota alumni Candidates in the 2016 United States elections