Mathias Dahl (January 6, 1884 – August 3, 1976) was a

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

politician who was well known for his tenure as the North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor from 1939 to 1964. His long tenure in the office ended a period of instability in the department when the three previous commissioners only served one two-year term. He re-elected a total of twelve times, and was one of the most prominent Republican/

Non-Partisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer (party), organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan ...

(NPL) politicians in the state.

Biography

Mathias Dahl was born on January 6, 1884, in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He came to America in 1902, and homesteaded in

Emmons County, North Dakota Emmons County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,301. Its county seat has been Linton since 1899. History The county was created by the Dakota Territory legislature on February 10, 18 ...

in 1904. He served in the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as ...

from 1931 to 1937, and was the Speaker of the House in 1937. He was elected as the North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor in 1938, and he served until 1965 when he retired. Dahl was one of the most prominent Republican/NPL politicians in the state. When the NPL dissolved, he joined the

North Dakota Republican Party The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party. Its platform is conservative. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling North Dakota's at-large U.S. House seat, both U.S ...

. During his life, Dahl was a member of the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

, the Farmers Union,

Sons of Norway Sons of Norway (), founded in 1895 as the Independent Order of the Sons of Norway, is a fraternal organization principally representing people of Norwegian-American, Norwegian heritage in the United States and Canada. The organization includes i ...

, and the

Masonic Order Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. He was married to Ragna Madland of Wing, North Dakota.North Dakota Blue Book, 1954 Dahl died at the age of 92 in 1976.

Notes

1884 births 1976 deaths American Lutherans North Dakota commissioners of agriculture and labor Norwegian emigrants to the United States Nonpartisan League politicians Speakers of the North Dakota House of Representatives Republican Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives 20th-century Lutherans 20th-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly {{NorthDakota-politician-stub