# Gretchen Quie *American artist and advocate for the arts; First Lady of Minnesota, 1979–1983* Gretchen Marie Quie (née Hansen; August 4, 1927 – December 13, 2015) was a painter, potter, writer and arts advocate. She was First Lady of [[Minnesota]] from 1979 to 1983, while her husband, [[Al Quie]], was governor.[^1][^2] Her official papers are held by the [[Minnesota Historical Society]].[^2] As First Lady she created the State Ceremonial Building Council to oversee restoration of the Minnesota Governor's Residence. She also opened the residence to the public through programs such as "Night at the Mansion", in which Minnesotans chosen by lottery stayed overnight.[^2] To encourage Minnesotans to sponsor refugees, the Quies housed a Vietnamese refugee family in the residence's renovated carriage house.[^2] The analysis *The Instrument No One Will Name* (2026-06-18) states that Governor Quie's Republican administration, "urged by First Lady Gretchen Quie," was the first to fill roughly one-third of state board, commission and council seats with women. The analysis places those appointments before [[§43A.191]], which it dates to 1985.[^1] It reports that account as confirmed against the Minnesota Historical Society's biography of Gretchen Quie.[^1] On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^3] The record carried here does not give the suit's docket, its status, or the instruments it challenges. It does not connect the suit to the Quie-era appointments.[^3] ## Biography She was born in [[Waverly]], Iowa, on August 4, 1927, to Ella and Sam Hansen.[^2] Her father, a school administrator, moved the family to Minnesota. They lived in Harmony and in Benson before settling in [[Minneapolis]], where he started a business placing teachers.[^2] She finished at Minneapolis's Central High School, since closed, in 1945. She then studied art at St. Olaf College and spent a summer term at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.[^2] At St. Olaf she met Al Quie, a retired United States Navy pilot. They married in June 1948, and she left the college a year short of her intended graduation.[^2] The couple moved to his family's farm in [[Rice County, Minnesota]]. There she joined local groups, among them Grace Lutheran Church in Nerstrand and the Dennison Study Club, and painted scenes of the farm and the surrounding county.[^2] Al Quie won a seat in the Minnesota State Senate while still running the farm. Four of the couple's children were born in Rice County before his 1958 election to the [[United States House of Representatives]].[^2] A fifth child, Ben, was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, during his years in Congress.[^2] In Silver Spring she designed much of the art in Saint Stephen Lutheran Church, including its stained glass windows, mosaics and tapestries, and she founded a women's art guild there.[^2] She was president of the Montgomery County Potters from 1976 to 1977 and returned to art studies at the University of Maryland.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - As First Lady, Gretchen Quie is named in *The Instrument No One Will Name* as the person who urged the [[governor]] to fill state board, commission and council seats with women. The analysis attributes the appointments themselves to Governor Al Quie's Republican administration.[^1] ### How - According to the analysis, the appointments were voluntary. It places them before the 1985 enactment of §43A.191. Quie's term as governor ended in 1983.[^1][^2] - The record does not identify the specific boards, commissions or councils, the number of appointments, or the base from which the one-third share was calculated.[^1] ### How much - Roughly one-third of state board, commission and council seats were filled with women, according to the analysis.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Gretchen Quie* (Governors of Minnesota collections, undated). This is the MNHS biography of the subject. *The Instrument No One Will Name* (2026-06-18, validated) cites it as primary confirmation that Governor Quie, urged by Gretchen Quie, was the first governor to fill roughly one-third of state board, commission and council seats with women. https://mnhs.gitlab.io/archive/governors-of-minnesota-collections/collections.mnhs.org/governors/index.php/10004510.html [^2]: Wikipedia, *Gretchen Quie* (revision 1366467249, retrieved 2026-10-26, CC BY-SA 4.0). Source for her birth, family, education, marriage, children, art work, tenure as First Lady, Governor's Residence programs and MNHS manuscripts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretchen_Quie [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026). Establishes the release's title and date, and Attorney General Pamela Bondi's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime