# Ancher Nelsen *American politician; 34th lieutenant governor of Minnesota and eight-term U.S. representative* **Ancher Nelsen** (October 11, 1904 – November 30, 1992) was a Republican politician from [[Minnesota]]. He was the state's 34th lieutenant governor in 1953 and served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.[^1][^2] Before entering Congress he served in the [[Minnesota Senate]] from 1935 to 1951. From 1953 to 1956 he was administrator of the federal Rural Electrification Administration program.[^2] Nelsen won his House seat as a Republican in 1958. He held it from the 86th through the 93rd Congresses, taking his seat on January 3, 1959.[^1][^2] He did not seek renomination in 1974 and resigned on December 31, 1974, three days before his last term would have ended.[^1][^2] The Wikipedia article on Nelsen records that he voted for the Civil Rights Acts of 1960, 1964 and 1968, for the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[^2] ## Biography Nelsen was the son of Danish parents and was born near Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, on October 11, 1904.[^2] He went to elementary school in Brownton, Minnesota, and finished Brownton High School in 1923.[^2] The following year, 1924, he took up a 280-acre diversified farm at Hutchinson in [[McLeod County, Minnesota]].[^2] In 1929 Nelsen married Ilo Irene Zimmerman, who was also from Brownton, and the couple had three children.[^2] Their son, Bruce G. Nelsen, was later a member of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]].[^2] Nelsen's first public posts were on local school boards. He sat on the District 75 board from 1926 to 1935 and on the Lynn Township board from 1929 to 1935.[^2] He held a seat in the [[Minnesota Senate]] from 1935 to 1951. He was also a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1948 and 1952.[^2] Nelsen won election in 1952 as the 34th [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]. His tenure lasted from January 5 to May 1, 1953, less than a year.[^2] He left that office to serve in Washington, D.C., as administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration program, a post he held from 1953 to 1956.[^2] In 1956 Nelsen was the Republican challenger to [[Orville Freeman]] for [[Governor of Minnesota]].[^2] Wikipedia describes him as the first gubernatorial candidate to appear on television during a campaign. It also states that he had been expected to win before official results came in, and that he lost by three points.[^2] Nelsen's congressional service began on January 3, 1959, after his election in 1958. It covered eight Congresses, the 86th through the 93rd.[^1][^2] He did not run for renomination in 1974. He resigned on December 31, 1974, three days before the term expired.[^1][^2] Nelsen died in Hutchinson, Minnesota, on November 30, 1992, at the age of 88. He was buried in Hutchinson's Oakland Cemetery.[^2] His papers are described in a Minnesota Historical Society finding aid, *Ancher Nelsen Papers (00890)*.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian, *Nelsen, Ancher* (member biography, undated) — congressional service record for Ancher Nelsen. https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/18870 [^2]: Wikipedia, *Ancher Nelsen* (revision 1364734342, retrieved 2026-10-25) — biographical details of offices, dates, family, 1956 campaign, House votes and death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancher_Nelsen [^3]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Ancher Nelsen Papers (00890)* (finding aid, undated) — archival description of Nelsen's papers. https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-finding-aids-public/library/findaids/00890.html