# Elmer L. Andersen *American businessman and politician; 30th governor of Minnesota (1961–1963)* Elmer Lee Andersen (June 17, 1909 – November 15, 2004) was a Minnesota businessman, publisher and Republican politician.[^1] He was the 30th [[Governor of Minnesota]], holding the office from 1961 to 1963.[^2][^3][^4] Before taking office he ran the H. B. Fuller Company of St. Paul, having bought a controlling interest in 1941. He called himself a progressive Republican.[^4] According to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights' account of its own history, Andersen (R) signed the State Act Against Discrimination in 1961, adding housing protections, and the State Commission Against Discrimination was expanded under him.[^5] A project analysis, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (June 18, 2026), cites Andersen as author of a "Fair Housing Act predicate" and dates it 1962. It lists the predicate among Republican-signed instruments it describes as "now in or adjacent to federal litigation". The record assembled here does not identify that litigation.[^6] Andersen lost his 1962 reelection bid to [[Karl Rolvaag]] of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party by 91 votes. The result was not determined until March 21, 1963, after recounts and court challenges.[^4] The Minnesota Supreme Court's 1962 cases include *In re Application of Andersen*, No. 38-945.[^7] MinnPost marked the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the recount in December 2012.[^8] ## Early life and education Andersen was born in Chicago. His mother, Jennie Olivia Johnson, was the daughter of a Swedish seaman. His father, Arne Kjelsberg Andersen, was a Norwegian immigrant who drove streetcars.[^4] When Andersen was six his parents separated, and he moved with his mother to Muskegon, Michigan. At nine he had a mild case of polio. At 14 he went to work at E. H. Sheldon and Company, a Muskegon maker of school furniture.[^4] ## H. B. Fuller Company Andersen joined the St. Paul paste manufacturer on October 8, 1934, and ran its sales for seven years. In 1941 he bought a controlling interest and became president.[^4] He ranked the firm's obligations in a fixed order: customers first, then the people who worked in it, then profit, then the wider community. He called those workers associates rather than employees.[^4] ## Dairy farm Beginning in 1953, Andersen spent 35 years in dairying on a Deer Lake farm near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, that had belonged to his wife's family. The farm won the National Holstein Association's Progressive Breeder Award in 1984.[^4] ## ECM Publishers In 1974 Andersen took up newspaper publishing. He combined two papers into the *Princeton Union-Eagle*, which later became part of ECM Publishers. His family sold ECM to Adams Publishing Group in 2016.[^4] ## Politics Andersen sat in the [[Minnesota Legislature]] from 1949 to 1958. His legislative causes included programs for exceptional children and treating alcoholism as a health issue. He also backed a metropolitan planning commission for the Twin Cities and the Fair Employment Practices Act, which made Minnesota the fifth state to legislate on the subject.[^4] ### Governor In 1960 Andersen challenged the incumbent Democrat, [[Orville Freeman]], and won by 22,879 votes.[^4] In 1999 he said he had decided to run after hearing Freeman say he wished he could again send the Minnesota National Guard against a strike at an Albert Lea meatpacking plant. A federal judge had blocked that earlier deployment.[^4] While he held office, the common loon was made the state bird and several state parks were created. The [[Taconite Amendment]] and fair housing legislation were also adopted.[^4] The two sources date his housing measure differently. The Department of Human Rights' history dates his signature on the State Act Against Discrimination, with its housing protections, to 1961. The project analysis dates the fair-housing predicate it attributes to him to 1962.[^5][^6] ### 1962 election The general election was held on November 6, 1962. On March 21, 1963, after recounts and court challenges, Rolvaag was determined to have won 619,842 to 619,751. That was a margin of 91 votes out of nearly 1.3 million cast.[^4] Wikipedia calls the margin one of the closest in Minnesota and U.S. history. The project's Time Table row calls it the closest in Minnesota history.[^4] On February 14, 1963, before the outcome was settled, Andersen said that if returned to office he would veto any right-to-work bill offered as "compulsory open shop legislation".[^4] ## University of Minnesota Andersen was a member of the [[Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota]] from 1967 to 1975 and its chair from 1972 to 1975.[^4] From 1968 to 1988 he was a trustee of the [[University of Minnesota]] Foundation, and he presided over it from 1978 to 1981. He also helped lead the university's 1985–1988 Minnesota Campaign fundraising drive.[^4] On May 14, 1999, the regents voted unanimously to name the university's archives and special-collections library for him. The Elmer L. Andersen Library opened in April 2000.[^4] ## Voyageurs National Park Congress passed legislation establishing Voyageurs National Park in April 1975. Andersen had spent years working with Sigurd Olson, Willard Munger and Charles A. Lindbergh to win over landowners, timber interests and officials. He is remembered as the "father of Voyageurs National Park".[^4] ## Book collector Andersen collected books throughout his life. For the *Princeton Union-Eagle* he wrote a column on book collecting under the name Arne Kjelsberg, taken from his father's first two names. The Ampersand Club published the columns in 2005, the year after his death.[^4] ## Personal life and legacy Andersen married Eleanor Anne Johnson (1911–2011) on September 1, 1932, and they had three children. The Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation was founded in 1957.[^4] His books include: - the autobiography *A Man's Reach* - *Views from the Publisher's Desk* - *I Trust to Be Believed* - *Elmer's Tour*, a guide to the [[Minnesota State Capitol]][^4] He died in [[Minneapolis]] on November 15, 2004. The [[Minnesota Department of Human Services]] building in St. Paul bears his name.[^4] The [[Minnesota Historical Society]] holds the Elmer L. Andersen Papers.[^9] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Elmer L. Andersen (R) was elected Governor of Minnesota as a progressive Republican.[^4] - *The Instrument No One Will Name* (2026) cites Andersen as author of the "Fair Housing Act predicate".[^6] ### What - Andersen signed the State Act Against Discrimination, adding housing protections.[^5] - The State Commission Against Discrimination was expanded under Andersen.[^5] ### When - November 8, 1960: Andersen was elected governor.[^4] - 1961: Andersen signed the State Act Against Discrimination; the State Commission Against Discrimination was expanded.[^5] - 1962: *The Instrument No One Will Name* dates the Fair Housing Act predicate it attributes to Andersen to this year.[^6] - November 6, 1962: Andersen lost to Karl Rolvaag (DFL) by 91 votes. The result was determined on March 21, 1963.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Historical Society, MNopedia, *Andersen, Elmer L. (1909–2004)* — biographical entry, life years. https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/person/andersen-elmer-l-1909-2004 [^2]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Elmer L. Andersen* (governor biography) — Andersen's service as governor of Minnesota. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/governor?gov=31 [^3]: National Governors Association, *Elmer L. Andersen* — governor biography (URL slug spells the name "anderson"). https://www.nga.org/governor/elmer-lee-anderson/ [^4]: Wikipedia, *Elmer L. Andersen* (rev. 1377211524, retrieved 2026-10-25) — biography, business, legislative and gubernatorial career, 1962 election figures and dates, university, park, books, death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_L._Andersen [^5]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *History* (undated) — Andersen (R) signed the State Act Against Discrimination in 1961, adding housing protections; the State Commission Against Discrimination was expanded under him. https://mn.gov/mdhr/about/history/index.jsp [^6]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, June 18, 2026) — cites "the Fair Housing Act predicate (Andersen, 1962)" among instruments "now in or adjacent to federal litigation"; its note [16] points to revisor.mn.gov session laws. No URL for this document is in the pack. [^7]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *In re Application of Andersen*, No. 38-945 (1962), via Justia — 1962 Minnesota Supreme Court case captioned for Andersen. https://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/supreme-court/1962/38-945.html [^8]: MinnPost, *50 years ago: Andersen-Rolvaag recount begins* (December 2012) — start of the 1962 gubernatorial recount. https://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-history/2012/12/50-years-ago-andersen-rolvaag-recount-begins/ [^9]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Elmer L. Andersen Papers* (finding aid) — the Society's holdings of Andersen's papers. https://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00132.xml