Richard Mystrom (born 1944) is an American politician, businessman, and author who served as the 32nd mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage from 1994 to 2000. He is a member of the Republican party.

Early life and education

Mystrom was born in

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 ...

in 1944 and attended the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

. In 1964, he was diagnosed with

Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone require ...

. He moved to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

in 1972.

Career

In 1975, Mystrom established Mystrom/Beck Advertising. In 1982, he received the Small Business Person of the Year Award from President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. In 1990, he sold his advertising business, which was later merged into the Nerland Agency. Mystrom was elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 1979, serving until 1985. In 1994, he defeated Democrat

Mark Begich Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he ...

to succeed Tom Fink as mayor of Anchorage. In 1997, he withstood a challenge from Fink, a fellow Republican. Mystrom was widely considered the more moderate of the two Republican candidates. In office, Mystrom emphasized crime reduction and championed the "City of Lights" beautification program, encouraging residents and employers to ornament their homes and businesses with decorative lights during Anchorage's dark winter. In the 2003 election, he challenged incumbent Republican mayor

George Wuerch George Poe Wuerch (born 1936) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 2000 to 2003. In the 2003 mayoral election, he was defeated for reelection by former city assemblyman ...

in a three-way race. Begich, who had unsuccessfully faced Wuerch in 2000, was elected. Mystrom is a longtime advocate of bringing the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

to Anchorage, and has chaired several committees to that end. Anchorage was twice the U.S. candidate for these Games (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Personal life

He has two sons, Nick and Richard, and a daughter, Jennifer, with his former wife, Mary.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mystrom, Rick 1943 births 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Alaska Republicans Anchorage Assembly members Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Businesspeople from Minnesota American advertising executives Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska