Stassen, Harold Edward (1907-2001), an American political leader, became famous for repeatedly running for president. He was governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943 and served as special assistant for disarmament to United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1955 to 1958. Stassen was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in the elections of 1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980.
Stassen was born on April 13, 1907, near St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota. After serving as attorney of Dakota County, Minnesota, he was elected governor in 1938 and was reelected twice. While governor, Stassen revised the civil service laws and lowered the costs of state government. He supported a labor law that provided a “cooling-off” period before strikes. This action brought him national recognition. In his third term as governor, during World War II, Stassen resigned to serve in the U.S. Navy.
In 1945, Stassen became a delegate to the San Francisco Conference, which founded the United Nations. He was appointed president of the University of Pennsylvania in 1948. Stassen resigned from that post in 1953 to serve as U.S. mutual security administrator, and then as foreign operations administrator, directing American aid to many countries. He died on March 4, 2001.
