Charles Joseph Kersten (May 26, 1902 – October 31, 1972) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

.'Wisconsin Blue Book 1954,' Biographical Sketch of Charles J. Kersten, pg. 17 Born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Kersten graduated from Marquette University College of Law,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, in 1925 and was admitted to the bar the same year. He commenced the practice of law in

, in 1928, serving as first assistant district attorney of Milwaukee County from 1937-1943 under District Attorney Herbert Steffes. Kersten was elected as a Republican to the Eightieth Congress (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949) as the representative of

Wisconsin's 5th congressional district Wisconsin's 5th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, covering most of Milwaukee's northern and western suburbs. It presently covers all of Washington County, Wisconsin, W ...

. He was a close friend of fellow freshman Congressman

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress. Kersten was elected to the Eighty-second and Eighty-third Congresses (January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1955) once again representing Wisconsin's 5th district. He served as chairman of the United States House Select Committee to Investigate Communist Aggression and the Forced Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R. during the Eighty-third Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1954, and failed in his bid for renomination in 1956, as of 2018 making him the last Republican to represent Milwaukee in the U.S. Congress. In between these campaigns Kersten briefly served in the Eisenhower administration under

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

as White House consultant on psychological warfare (1955–1956). He then resumed his law practice, remaining active in anticommunist circles until his death on October 31, 1972, in

. He was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Sources

External links

Charles J. Kersten Papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kersten, Charles Joseph 1902 births 1972 deaths Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Milwaukee Marquette University Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Catholics from Illinois Catholics from Wisconsin 20th-century American lawyers Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Milwaukee) American anti-communists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives