Lawrence "Larry" J. Pogemiller (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and a former Commissioner of the

Minnesota Office of Higher Education The Minnesota Office of Higher Education is an executive branch agency that is responsible for the coordination of higher education information, financial aid programs, statistics, and policy in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The agency does not run ...

. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Minnesota ( ) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and No ...

, he represented northeast

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

districts in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

from 1981 to 2011, and served as the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

's 9th majority leader from 2007 to 2011. As majority leader, he was chair of the Senate Rules Committee and its subcommittees, and also served on the Senate Tax Committee. Pogemiller was born in

and graduated from

DeLaSalle High School DeLaSalle High School ( ) is a Catholic, college preparatory high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located on Nicollet Island. History DeLaSalle opened in 1900 and has been administered by the De La Salle Brothers (French Christian Brot ...

in 1969. He was first elected to the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

in 1980, serving as the representative of District 55A from 1981 to 1983. After serving one term, he was elected to the Senate in 1982, serving the old District 58 prior to the 1992

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

and, thereafter, District 59. He was re-elected in every general election. Governor of Minnesota Mark Dayton appointed him Director of the Higher Education office in October 2011. He held the position until the end of Dayton's governorship in 2019. Pogemiller is known for his outspoken, assertive leadership style and his strategic thinking. Reporter Tom Scheck of

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, KNOW-FM, News & Information, KSJN, YourClassical MPR and KCMP, The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper ...

called him "a brilliant and combative political tactician who often speaks his mind". Former Minnesota House Speaker

Steve Sviggum Steven A. Sviggum (born September 15, 1951) is a Minnesota politician, a former member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, and an executive assistant to and communications director for the Republican caucus in the Minnesota Senate. ...

called him "a very frustrating individual as he runs the clock past midnight all the time." Pogemiller had a rocky relationship with former Republican governor

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...

References

External links

Senator Lawrence J. Pogemiller Web PageMinnesota Public Radio – Votetracker: Lawrence Pogemiller Voting RecordProject Vote Smart – Senator Lawrence Pogemiller ProfileSenator Pogemiller Campaign Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pogemiller, Lawrence J. Living people 1951 births University of Minnesota alumni Harvard University alumni Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Politicians from Minneapolis State cabinet secretaries of Minnesota DeLaSalle High School (Minneapolis) alumni Catholics from Minnesota 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature