# Russell A. Anderson *Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (2006–2008)* Russell A. Anderson (May 28, 1942 – September 15, 2020) was an attorney who was Chief Justice of the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] from 2006 to 2008.[^1] Anderson joined the court as an associate justice on September 1, 1998, and took the oath as chief justice on January 10, 2006. He left the court on June 1, 2008, at age 66, and [[Eric J. Magnuson]] followed him as chief justice. He was 78 when he died in September 2020.[^1] ## Early life and education Anderson received his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield in 1964. He earned his J.D. at the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] in [[Minneapolis]] in 1968. In 1977 he completed a Master of Laws at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.[^2] ## Career Anderson began his legal work in the U.S. Navy, where he held the rank of lieutenant commander in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. His Navy duties included prosecuting and defending cases before general and lesser courts-martial. He also presided as military judge over special and summary courts-martial, and worked as a civil and criminal staff attorney in the Office of the Judge Advocate General in Washington, D.C.[^3] From 1976 to 1982 he practiced privately in Bemidji. During the last four of those years, 1978 to 1982, he was also the Beltrami County [[county attorney]].[^3] Governor [[Al Quie]] appointed Anderson to the Ninth District Court bench, where he sat from 1983. Governor [[Arne Carlson]] elevated him to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1998.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Russell A. Anderson* (revision 1373140436, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead section: birth and death dates, tenure as associate justice and chief justice, retirement date and age, successor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_A._Anderson [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Russell A. Anderson* (revision 1373140436, retrieved 2026-10-26) — section "Early life and education": St. Olaf College (1964), J.D. (1968), LL.M. (1977). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_A._Anderson [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Russell A. Anderson* (revision 1373140436, retrieved 2026-10-26) — section "Career": Navy JAG service, private practice and county attorney dates, appointments by Governors Quie and Carlson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_A._Anderson