Fred A. Risser (born May 5, 1927) is a retired American politician and attorney who served in the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

from 1957 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party from

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, Risser holds the record as the longest-serving state legislator in American history, having served 58 years in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

and six years in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. Risser was the fourth generation of his family to serve in the state legislature. His father, Fred E. Risser, had represented the same state senate district from 1937 to 1949. Risser represented most of the city of Madison, including the campus of the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. He was president of the Senate for 26 years and never lost an election.Frank Bures
"Backstory: The iron man of state politics"
''The Christian Science Monitor'', March 1, 2007. By 2019 Risser was the last

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran serving as a state legislator in the United States.

Early life, education and career

Risser was born in Madison, Wisconsin on May 5, 1927 into a prolific Wisconsin political family. Risser's father ( Fred E. Risser), grandfather ( Ernest Warner), and great-grandfather (

Clement Warner Clement Edson Warner (February 23, 1836May 20, 1916) was an American farmer, Republican politician, and Union Army officer in the American Civil War. He served with the 36th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and commanded the regiment near the end ...

) served at various times as Wisconsin legislators representing part or all of

Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...

, although none were Democrats. Risser served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

from 1945 to 1946. He was sworn into the Navy shortly before his high school graduation and

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

. He was a medic and served in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, and the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

. Risser used the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

to attend college, attending the

and

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

before transferring to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from Oregon in 1950 and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1952. He became a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and the

Oregon State Bar The Oregon State Bar (OSB) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the lega ...

and practiced law in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Legislature

Wisconsin Assembly

Risser was first elected to the

in 1956, succeeding fellow Democrat Ivan A. Nestingen (who had resigned in April of that year after he was elected mayor of Madison). Risser was re-elected in 1958 and 1960. He was elected to the state Senate in a 1962

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

triggered by the appointment of Horace W. Wilkie to the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

. He was succeeded in the Wisconsin Assembly by fellow Democrat Edward Nager.

Wisconsin Senate

Risser was elected to a full term in 1964 and was reelected every four years until his retirement. He rose through the ranks quickly, becoming the minority leader in 1967, which he credits to his intense study of

parliamentary procedure Parliamentary procedures are the accepted Procedural law, rules, ethics, and Norm (sociology), customs governing meetings of an deliberative assembly, assembly or organization. Their object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of inte ...

. After the Democrats gained the Senate majority in the 1974 election, Risser was elected as , beginning in the 1975 session. He continued as until a state constitutional amendment in 1979 separated the offices of Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin and President of the Senate. When the amendment was certified on May 1, 1979, Risser was elected president of the Senate and the office of became defunct for a number of years. Risser held the office of president of the Senate continuously for the next 16 years, until Democrats lost the majority in the 1994 election. He was returned to the office of president every time the Democrats held the majority in the subsequent 20 years. In total, he served about 26 years as president of the Senate.

2011 Wisconsin protests

During the protests in Wisconsin, Risser, along with the 13 other Democratic State Senators, left the state to deny the State Senate a quorum on Governor Scott Walker's "Budget Repair" legislation.

Retirement

On March 26, 2020, Risser announced that he would not run for re-election in November 2020.

Other political involvement

Risser was a delegate to both the

1960 Democratic National Convention The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. In ...

and the

1964 Democratic National Convention The 1964 Democratic National Convention of the Democratic Party, took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from August 24 to 27, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a full term. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Mi ...

. He served as the Chair of Wisconsin's

Presidential electors In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

during the 1964 presidential election.

Personal life

Risser's first wife, Betty, died after 21 years of marriage. Risser is married to Nancy Risser, a retired

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

teacher. He has three children and several grandchildren.

References

External links

* *
Fred Risser recalls his 1959 vote to give public employees in Wisconsin the right to join unions and bargain collectively
, ''Wisconsin Eye'', February 22, 2011, video interview * {{DEFAULTSORT:Risser, Fred A. 1927 births United States Navy personnel of World War II Carleton College alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Oregon lawyers 2012 United States presidential electors Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin United States Navy sailors University of Oregon alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Presidents of the Wisconsin Senate Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators 2008 United States presidential electors Lawyers from Madison, Wisconsin Military personnel from Madison, Wisconsin 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature