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A look back at Minnesota's 'boy governor' Harold Stassen

Gov. Harold Stassen
Gov. Harold Stassen being sworn in for his second term, 1941.
Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society Press

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'Stassen Again' by Steve Werle
'Stassen Again' by Steve Werle
Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society Press

A new book tells the story of Minnesota's "boy governor," Harold Stassen.

Stassen was one of the youngest people in the nation ever elected governor. Minnesota voters put the moderate Republican in office back in 1938, when he was 31.

The man who would become famous as a perennial candidate — he ran for President 10 times — grew up on a farm in Dakota County. He went on to serve in the Eisenhower administration, and helped create the United Nations.

In "Stassen Again," author Steve Werle looks back at the persona and the career of Stassen.

Gallery
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Time magazine Stassen cover, 1947
An example of the national stature Harold Stassen reached leading up to the 1948 presidential election: He was on the cover of Time magazine on August 25, 1947.
Minnesota Historical Society Press, Boris Chaliapin
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Dulles, Eisenhower. Stassen
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, President Dwight Eisenhower, and Harold Stassen, seated in the Oval Office, 1953. Stassen was also a member of Eisenhower's cabinet, serving at the time as director of an agency called the Mutual Security Agency
Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society Press
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Gov. Harold Stassen
Gov. Harold Stassen, speaking to the Minnesota Legislature, 1941
Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society Press