Tony Lourey (born August 15, 1967) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

politician. He is a former Minnesota commissioner of human services and former Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...

, representing District 11.

Early life, education, and career

Lourey was born in

Pine County, Minnesota Pine County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,876. Its county seat is Pine City. The county was formed in 1856 and organized in 1872. Today, Pine County is the fastest growing county in ...

. He attended 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 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Hamline University School of Law Hamline University School of Law was a private law school affiliated with Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1972 as the Midwestern School of Law by a group of legal professionals. In 1976, Midwestern School of Law w ...

, and

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. ...

, graduating with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 2011. Before his election to the Senate, he was a township supervisor of Kerrick Township for eight years.

Political career

Lourey was elected to the

in 2006 to represent District 8, succeeding his mother,

Becky Lourey Becky Lourey (born September 24, 1943) is an American politician, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) state senator and state representative, and a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate. Her son Matt served in the U.S. Arm ...

. He was reelected in 2010. After redistricting, he was elected to represent District 11—which included Carlton and

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

counties and parts of Kanabec and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

counties in the northeast—in 2012 and reelected in 2016. He resigned on January 3, 2019, after 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 ...

selected him as commissioner of human services.

Personal life

Lourey and his wife, Marlana Benzie-Lourey, have three children. They are the owners of the Askov American newspaper, which was founded by former legislator and governor

Hjalmar Petersen Hjalmar Petersen (January 2, 1890March 29, 1968) was an American journalist and politician who served as the List of Governors of Minnesota, 23rd Governor of Minnesota from 1936 to 1937, succeeding the late Floyd Olson. Background Hjalmar Peter ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lourey, Tony 1967 births Living people University of Minnesota alumni People from Pine County, Minnesota Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Hamline University School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature