Nicholas John Spaeth (January 27, 1950 – March 16, 2014) was the 27th
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
of
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 ...
, serving from 1985 to 1992. He lost the 1992
North Dakota governor's race to Republican
Ed Schafer
Edward Thomas Schafer (born August 8, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 30th governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000 and as the 29th United States secretary of agriculture from 2008 to 2009 under President Georg ...
.
Born in
Mahnomen, Minnesota
Mahnomen ( ) is a city in Mahnomen County, Minnesota, United States, along the Wild Rice River. The population was 1,240 at the 2020 census. It is the seat of Mahnomen County.
U.S. Highway 59 and Minnesota State Highway 200 are two of the ...
, Spaeth grew up in
Valley City,
Fargo, and
Bismarck in North Dakota. He went to college at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, where he graduated with honors, and won a
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Established in 1902, it is ...
to
New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
. After Oxford, he went to
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...
, where he was managing editor of the law review.
After graduation, he clerked for
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
* Eastern District of Arkansas
* Western ...
Judge
Myron Bright and then for Supreme Court Justice
Byron White
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White (June 8, 1917 – April 15, 2002) was an American lawyer, jurist, and professional American football, football player who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, associate justice of the Supreme ...
.
In the November 1992 election for governor of North Dakota, Spaeth lost to Schafer, 58% to 41%. In 2004, Spaeth joined
H&R Block, Inc. in 2004, as a senior vice president and chief legal officer. He resigned in 2007 and joined the
Federal Home Loan Bank
The Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks, or FHLBank System) are 11 U.S. government-sponsored banks that provide liquidity to financial institutions to support housing finance and community investment.
Overview
The FHLBank System was chartered by ...
(FHLB) as executive vice-president, general counsel and chief risk officer.
Death
Spaeth was found dead in his apartment in
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...
on March 16, 2014. He was 64 years old.
Nicholas Spaeth, former North Dakota Attorney General, found dead in Fargo over the weekend
wday.com; accessed March 18, 2014.
See also
*
References
, -
, -
1950 births
2014 deaths
Alumni of New College, Oxford
American Rhodes Scholars
H&R Block
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
North Dakota attorneys general
North Dakota Democrats
People from Mahnomen County, Minnesota
Stanford Law School alumni
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