Rudy Perpich
| Rudy Perpich | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 34th & 36th Governor of Minnesota | |
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In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991 |
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| Lieutenant | Marlene Johnson |
| Preceded by | Al Quie |
| Succeeded by | Arne Carlson |
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In office December 29, 1976 – January 4, 1979 |
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| Lieutenant | Alec G. Olson |
| Preceded by | Wendell Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Al Quie |
| 39th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota | |
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In office January 4, 1971 – December 29, 1976 |
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| Governor | Wendell R. Anderson |
| Preceded by | James B. Goetz |
| Succeeded by | Alec G. Olson |
| Member of the Minnesota Senate from the 63rd district |
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In office January 8, 1963 – January 4, 1971 |
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| Preceded by | Elmer Peter Peterson |
| Succeeded by | George F. Perpich |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rudolph George Prpić June 27, 1928 Carson Lake, Minnesota |
| Died | September 21, 1995 (aged 67) Minnetonka, Minnesota |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Delores "Lola" Perpich |
| Profession | Dentist |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Rudolph George "Rudy" Perpich, Sr. (June 27, 1928 – September 21, 1995) was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34th and 36th Governor of Minnesota from December 29, 1976, to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991. He was also the state's only Roman Catholic governor and the only one to serve non-consecutive terms. Before entering politics, he was a dentist.
Rudolph George Prpić was born in Carson Lake, Minnesota, which is now part of Hibbing. His father, Anton Prpić, was a miner who had immigrated from Croatia to Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range, and his mother was an American of Croatian descent. Perpich did not learn to speak English until at least the first grade of elementary school. At 14, he began working for the Great Northern Railway. He graduated from Hibbing High School in 1946 and served two years in the United States Army. He then attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from Marquette University Dental School in 1954, whereupon he returned to Hibbing to practice dentistry.
Perpich first entered politics by serving on the Hibbing school board in 1955-56. The board gained notability for instituting equal pay for male and female workers. In 1962, he was elected to the Minnesota Senate, representing the old 63rd District, which included portions of Saint Louis County in the northeastern part of the state. He was reelected in 1966.
In 1970, Perpich was elected the 39th lieutenant governor of Minnesota. He was reelected in 1974 on a ticket with Governor Wendell Anderson. (Before 1974, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected separately.) He became governor when Anderson resigned in 1976 to take the United States Senate seat vacated by Walter Mondale, who had been elected Vice President of the United States. Perpich was the first Iron Range resident to hold the office.
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