Hjalmar Petersen

Hjalmar Petersen (January 2, 1890 – March 29, 1968) was an American politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Minnesota. Hjalmar Petersen was born in Eskildstrup, Denmark. His career in journalism culminated in his purchase in 1914 of the Askov American in Askov, Minnesota, a weekly newspaper he owned for the rest of his life. After serving as Askov's village clerk and mayor, Petersen won two terms in the Minnesota Legislature, where he sponsored the state income-tax law and urged that tax revenues be spent on public education. Before he ran for the Minnesota Legislature he had been a member of the Republican Party. By the time he ran for office he was a member of the Farmer-Labor Party. He served in the legislature from 1931 to...