Ronald "Ron" Lawrence Abrams (born April 27, 1952) is a judge and former

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. He served in 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 ...

from 1989–2006. A member of the Republican Party, Abrams represented District 45A from 1989-2002 and District 43B from 2003-2009, which included his home city of

Minnetonka Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of Minneapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is the home of Car ...

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

. Abrams resigned his seat in the House in 2006 to accept a judicial appointment from 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 ...

with the Hennepin County District Court 4th Judicial District. In 2020 he was appointed by Governor

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...

to serve statewide as a Senior Judge.

Early life, education and career

Abrams was born in

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 ...

and graduated from St. Louis Park High School. He received his bachelor's degree in Economics, History, and Political Science 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 ...

, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1974 and his juris doctor from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1977. Abrams worked as an attorney and area manager, forGroup W. Cable Television in Minneapolis from 1980-1984 and as an attorney for Briggs and Morgan in St. Paul from 1977-1980. Abrams worked as a summer intern for U.S. Representative Bill Frenzel. and worked at the

as a Committee Administrator from 1985-1986 prior to his election to the same body.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Abrams was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, first running as an Independent Republican and later as a member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

after the party changed its name. Abrams served as an Assistant Minority Leader from 1993-1998, and as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House from 1999-2006. He chaired the Taxes Committee from 1999-2004. Abrams resigned his seat in the House on June 21, 2006 to accept a judicial appointment from Governor

. A special election was not held to fill the seat.

Judicial career

Abrams was appointed to the Hennepin County District Court 4th Judicial District in 2006 by Governor

. He was re-elected in 2008 and 2014, retiring on August 31, 2020. He was appointed by Governor

to serve statewide as a Senior Judge from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025. His judicial assignments included criminal, civil, and family law.

Personal life

Abrams and his spouse, Joanne have two children. He resided in Minnetonka, Minnesota while elected to the state legislature. He is Jewish.

References

1952 births Living people University of Minnesota alumni Harvard Law School alumni Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature {{Minnesota-MNRepresentative-Republican-stub