Shawn N. Jasper (born January 23, 1959) is an American politician from the state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. A member of the Republican Party, he serves as the Commissioner of the

New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food is a state agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire, headquartered in Concord. The department's mission is "to support and promote agriculture and serve consumers and business for th ...

, and is a former

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

Biography

Jasper graduated from Alvirne High School in

Hudson, New Hampshire Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located along the Massachusetts state line. The population was 25,394 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-largest municipality (town or city) in the state, by populatio ...

, in 1977. He received an

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

from the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

. He has served as advisor to the

Alpha Gamma Rho Alpha Gamma Rho (; commonly known as AGR or The Rho) is an American social and professional agriculture-focused fraternity. It was established at Ohio State University in 1904. History Alpha Gamma Rho considers the Morrill Act of 1862 to be the ...

Omega Chapter, of the

since 1986. He was elected to the New Hampshire House in 1984, and served one two-year term. He was elected again in 1988, and served through 1994. He was elected to the state House again in 2002. He also served for 16 years on the Hudson

Board of Selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

, but lost his bid for reelection in 2012. In the 2014 elections, Jasper was reelected to his 11th term in the New Hampshire House. Republicans retook the majority in the New Hampshire House from the Democratic Party in the 2014 election. After the election, William L. O'Brien, the former Republican Speaker of the House, ran for Speaker against Democrat Steve Shurtleff. Enough Republicans voted for Shurtleff on the first ballot that O'Brien did not receive the majority. Shurtleff then dropped out of the race, and Jasper entered. On the third ballot, Jasper received the majority of all ballots cast, defeating O'Brien with the majority of Democratic members and some Republicans voting for him. In October 2017,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Chris Sununu Christopher Thomas Sununu ( ; born November 5, 1974) is an American politician and engineer who served as the 82nd governor of New Hampshire from 2017 to 2025. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Sununu is the son of former New Hamps ...

nominated Jasper to lead the state's agriculture department. Jasper has led the

since December 11, 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasper, Shawn 1959 births Living people Politicians from Nashua, New Hampshire Speakers of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives University of New Hampshire alumni State agriculture commissioners in the United States 21st-century members of the New Hampshire General Court