Floyd B. Olson

Floyd Bjornstjerne Olson ( born November 13, 1891 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; † August 22, 1936 in Rochester, Minnesota ) was an American politician and 1931-1936 Governor of the State of Minnesota.

Early years and career

Floyd Olson attended the University of Minnesota and then studied until 1915 at the Northwest Law College Jura. In between, he spent some time in Canada, Alaska and the State of Washington. After qualifying as a lawyer, he began in Minneapolis to work in this profession. Between 1920 and 1930, Olson was district attorney in Hennepin County. In this capacity he was investigating corrupt businessmen. An action against the Ku Klux Klan earned him the respect of a wide public, but also death threats on the part of the clan. In 1924, Olson competed unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party for a seat in the House of Representatives from Minnesota.

After he won a case against the representatives of the employer in 1923, he was the workers and trade unions very popular. These were then combined with the farmers in the so-called Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party. This party was primarily active in Minnesota and presented 1918-1940 four governors, three U.S. senators and eight representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives. Later, the party merged with the Democrats. Since 1944 is the name of this party Democratic - Farmer-Labor Party. In 1924, Olson was nominated as a candidate of the Farmer-Labor Party for the upcoming gubernatorial election. In the election, he was defeated by Theodore Christianson. In 1928, Olson declined to run again.

Governor of Minnesota

Two years later, Olson took but at his party's nomination. On November 4, 1930, he was elected the first governor of that party. In 1932 and 1934 he was confirmed in each case. These years were overshadowed by the global economic crisis, under which the workers and farmers suffered severely in Minnesota. These had their hopes on Olson set, but first had to deal with a Republican majority in the legislature itself, which often stopped the government's plans. Nevertheless, some pioneering laws were enacted during his tenure. It was adopted a progressive income tax and introduced a pension scheme. In the course of job-creation measures environmental programs have been established. Women in the public service received the same wage for the same work as their male colleagues. In addition, a minimum wage and unemployment insurance were required by law. The expansion of the road network was also driven in the context of job creation ahead. That, along with the actions of the federal government under the New Deal policies, led to the gradual overcoming of the crisis.

For the year 1936 Governor Olson was planning a run for the U.S. Senate. But he fell ill with stomach cancer, which he died aged 44 on 22 August 1936. He was married to Ada A. Krejci, with whom he had a child.