Warren Spannaus

Warren Richard Spannaus (December 5, 1930 – November 27, 2017) was an American politician from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Spannaus served as attorney general of Minnesota from 1971 to 1983. Spannaus graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1963. He was first elected attorney general in 1970 and assumed office on January 4, 1971. Spannaus was re-elected to the position twice, in 1974 and 1978, serving from 1971 to 1983 in total. At the 1980 Democratic National Convention, Spannaus received two votes for the party's presidential nomination, which went to incumbent President Jimmy Carter. In 1982, he ran for governor of Minnesota as the DFL-endorsed candidate, but lost the primary election to former Governor Rudy Perpich, who went on to win the general election. Spannaus joined the Minneapolis-based law firm of Dorsey & Whitney. Spannaus married Marjorie Clarkson and had three children.