Robert E. "Bob" Vanasek (born April 2, 1949) is a
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 ...
politician and a former member and Speaker of 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 ...
. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
, he was first elected to the House in 1972 at just 23 years of age, and was re-elected every two years from 1974 to 1990. He represented the old districts 24A and 25A, which included portions of
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota ...
,
Le Sueur,
Rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
and
Scott
Scott may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...
counties in the southeastern part of the state.
Education background
Vanasek graduated from
New Prague High School in
New Prague, and received a B.A. in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
. He went on to receive his M.A. in
public administration
Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
from the
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
at Harvard University in 1985 through a Bush Foundation Fellowship. He also attended
William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law was a private law school from 1956 to 2015 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor (J. ...
in
Saint Paul
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
.
Legislative and professional leadership
While in the legislature, Vanasek served as chair of the House Criminal Justice and Judiciary committees, the Rules and Legislative Administration Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee. He was an assistant majority leader from 1979 to 1985, and, briefly,
majority leader in 1987.
Vanasek became Speaker in 1987, after the resignation of
Fred Norton, who was appointed to the
Minnesota Court of Appeals
The Minnesota Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It began operating on November 1, 1983.
Jurisdiction
The Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over most appeals from the State court (United State ...
by
Governor Rudy Perpich. He served as Speaker until 1992, when he left the legislature to become executive director of the Minnesota High Technology Council, a private organization, until 1995.
He was vice president of public affairs at
Metropolitan State University
Metropolitan State University (Metro State) is a public university in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. from 1995 to 1999.
Vanasek has run Robert Vanasek & Associates since 1999, and is currently a lobbyist for a variety of organizations. He is also a member of the board of directors of Minnesota's Private Colleges.
Honorary consul of the Czech Republic
Vanasek was installed as the new
honorary consul
A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
A consu ...
of the Czech Republic for the four-state area of Minnesota,
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
,
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 ...
and
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
on September 19, 2009, by Czech Ambassador Petr Kolar. The Czech Republic maintains 14 consulates in the United States, and 166 worldwide. The Czech honorary consulate joins some 30 other such honorary and official consulates with jurisdiction in the state of Minnesota.
References
External links
"Vanasek installed as honorary consul of the Czech Republic" 9/11/2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanasek, Robert
Living people
1943 births
Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
American people of Czech descent
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni
William Mitchell College of Law alumni
People from New Prague, Minnesota
20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature