Wendell R. Anderson

Wendell Richard "Wendy" Anderson (February 1, 1933 – July 17, 2016) was an American politician and hockey player who served from 1971 to 1976 as the 33rd governor of Minnesota. In late 1976, he resigned as governor in order to be appointed to the U.S. Senate, after Senator Walter Mondale was elected Vice President of the United States. Anderson served in the Senate for almost two years, but after losing the 1978 Senate election to Rudy Boschwitz, he resigned a few days before the end of his term to give Boschwitz seniority.

Background Anderson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1933. He attended Saint Paul's Johnson High School and the University of Minnesota, where he received a B.A. in 1954. He earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1960.

Anderson served in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957, reaching the rank of First Lieutenant. He later served with an intelligence unit in the Army Reserve.

Hockey career From 1951 to 1954, Anderson played defense for the University of Minnesota, where he made two NCAA Frozen Four runs in his final two seasons (the Gophers were defeated in back-to-back championship finals by the Michigan Wolverines and the RPI Bachelors ). He was a member of the U.S. hockey team that won a silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics. Long after his on-ice career ended, he was drafted in 1972 by the Minnesota Fighting Saints in the inaugural World Hockey Association draft, in what was seen as a publicity stunt. (Not to be outdone, another WHA team selected Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin.) Anderson chose to remain governor.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1950–51 St. Paul Johnson High School USHS — — — — — — — — — — 1951–52 University of Minnesota MCHL 3 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 1952–53 University of Minnesota MCHL 32 2 6 8 26 — — — — — 1953–54 University of Minnesota WIHL 28 4 11 15 18 — — — — — 1954–55 Minneapolis Bungalows MNHL — — — — — — — — — — 1961–62 Minneapolis Rebels USHL Sr. — — — — — — — — — — College totals 63 7 19 25 46 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1955 United States WC 4th 8 2 2 4 5 1956 United States OLY 7 0 1 1 2Totals 15 2 3 5 7

Political career Anderson served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1959 to 1963 and in the Minnesota State Senate from 1963 to 1971. He was elected governor of Minnesota in 1970.

Anderson's signature accomplishment as governor was to help create the "Minnesota Miracle of 1971", an innovative reform in financing of Minnesota public schools and local governments that created a fairer distribution in taxation and education. He began his plans to increase education funding immediately, and increased education funding in the state budget from 43% to 65%. The increases in the state's budget necessary to finance this were accomplished with sales taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, the progressive income tax he had promised in his campaign, and a raised inheritance tax. 96% of school districts saw funding increase while property taxes decreased. For his efforts, Anderson appeared on a 1973 cover of Time magazine.

After U.S. Senator Walter Mondale was elected vice president in 1976, the governor had to appoint Mondale's successor. Anderson agreed with his lieutenant governor, Rudy Perpich, that Anderson would resign as governor, and Perpich, as the new governor, would appoint Anderson to the Senate.

In what became known as the "Minnesota Massacre", part of the DFL Party ticket was defeated in 1978, including Perpich and the candidates for both U.S. Senate seats, Anderson and Bob Short (the party held on to other posts, such as attorney general). Anderson's arrangement to have himself appointed to the Senate—and Perpich's role in that appointment—were deemed central factors in the defeats; Anderson said the move to appoint himself senator was his big mistake.

From 1989 to 2002, Anderson served as honorary consul general of Sweden in Minneapolis. From 1995 to 2001, he served as a director for and head of the legal committee of Turbodyne Technologies Inc. (TRBD) in Carpinteria, California. In his later years, he was regularly called upon to act as a commentator on Minnesota politics for local stations such as KSTP-TV.

In the 1970s, Anderson appeared on the TV game show What's My Line? A panel consisting of Gene Rayburn, Arlene Francis, Gene Shalit and Sheila MacRae was unable to guess that he was the governor of Minnesota.

In 1975, two of the Swedish District lodges of the Vasa Order of America selected Anderson as Swedish-American of the Year.

Anderson died on July 17, 2016, of complications of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 83. His cremated remains were buried in Lakewood Cemetery in August 2019.