Representative Ancher Nelsen

Ancher Nelsen (October 11, 1904 – November 30, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and an eight-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota. His congressional service, spanning from 1959 to 1975, occurred during a significant period in American history, and he participated actively in the legislative process while representing the interests of his constituents.

Nelsen was born on October 11, 1904, near Buffalo Lake, Renville County, Minnesota, to Danish immigrant parents. He attended elementary school in Brownton, Minnesota, and graduated from Brownton High School in 1923. In 1924 he began operating a 280-acre diversified farm near Hutchinson in McLeod County, Minnesota, an enterprise that grounded his later public service in agricultural and rural issues. In 1929 he married Ilo Irene Zimmerman of Brownton; the couple had three children. Their son, Bruce G. Nelsen, later followed his father into public life, serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

While building his farming operation, Nelsen became involved in local education governance. He served on the District 75 Minnesota School Board from 1926 to 1935 and concurrently on the Lynn Township School Board from 1929 to 1935. These early roles in school administration reflected his interest in public education and local government and provided his first experience in elected office and public policy.

Nelsen’s state-level political career began with his election to the Minnesota Senate, where he served from 1935 to 1951. During these sixteen years in the legislature, he became a recognized Republican figure in state politics and participated in shaping policy in the prewar, wartime, and early postwar eras. He was chosen as a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1948 and 1952, underscoring his growing influence within the party both in Minnesota and nationally.

In 1952, Nelsen was elected the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. He took office on January 5, 1953, but served less than one year, resigning on May 1, 1953. He left the lieutenant governorship to accept a federal appointment as administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) Program in Washington, D.C. In that capacity, which he held from 1953 to 1956, he oversaw federal efforts to extend electric power and related infrastructure to rural communities, a role that drew directly on his agricultural background and long-standing interest in rural development.

Nelsen entered national elective office in 1958, when he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served eight consecutive terms in Congress, sitting in the 86th through the 93rd Congresses from January 3, 1959, until his resignation on December 31, 1974, three days before his final term was scheduled to expire. Throughout this period, he contributed to the legislative process during eight terms in office and participated fully in the democratic process as a member of the House of Representatives, representing Minnesota and advocating for the concerns of his district. He did not seek renomination in 1974, choosing instead to retire from Congress at the end of that year.

During his congressional tenure, Nelsen took notable positions on major civil rights legislation. He voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1960, 1964, and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished the poll tax in federal elections, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These votes placed him in support of key federal measures aimed at expanding and protecting voting rights and ending racial discrimination, aligning him with a bipartisan coalition that advanced civil rights during the 1960s.

After leaving Congress, Nelsen returned to Minnesota. He lived in Hutchinson, where he had long maintained his farm and community ties. He died in Hutchinson on November 30, 1992, at the age of 88, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Hutchinson. His public life, extending from local school boards to the Minnesota Senate, the lieutenant governorship, a federal administrative post, and the U.S. House of Representatives, reflected a sustained commitment to public service, particularly on behalf of rural communities and his Minnesota constituents.