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|resting_place=Acacia Cemetery in Mendota Heights,  Dakota County, Minnesota

|resting_place=Acacia Cemetery in Mendota Heights,  Dakota County, Minnesota

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​

|spouse=Esther Ethel Glewwe Stassen (married 1929-2000, her death)​

|spouse=Esther Ethel Glewwe Stassen (married 1929–2000, her death)​

|children=Glen Harold Stassen (deceased)

|children=Glen Harold Stassen (deceased)

|alma_mater=[[University of Minnesota]] (B.A. and LLB)

|alma_mater=[[University of Minnesota]] (B.A. and LLB)

[[United States Navy]] in[[ World War II]]}}

[[United States Navy]] in[[ World War II]]}}

'''Harold Edward Stassen''' (April 13, 1907 &ndash; March 4, 2001) was a [[Moderate Republican]] who was the youngest person elected as the [[governor]] of a U.S. state - [[Minnesota]] in 1938. He still holds that designation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://libguides.mnhs.org/stassen|title=Harold E. Stassen: "Boy Governor" & Presidential Hopeful: Overview|publisher=Minnesota History Center: Gale Family Library|accessdate=June 5, 2020}}</ref>  [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Bill Clinton]] was elected in  [[Arkansas]] in 1978, the second youngest person elected as a governor. Despite his early success in Minnesota politics, over the years the [[Moderate Republican]] Stassen became known as a [[perennial candidate]]  for many offices, including [[U.S. President]], [[U.S. Senator]], and governor of [[Pennsylvania]] and [[mayor]] of [[Philadelphia]], where he moved in 1948 to become the president of the [[University of Pennsylvania]].  

'''Harold Edward Stassen''' (April 13, 1907 &ndash; March 4, 2001) was a [[Moderate Republican]] who was the youngest person elected as the [[governor]] of a U.S. state – [[Minnesota]] – in 1938. He still holds that designation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://libguides.mnhs.org/stassen|title=Harold E. Stassen: "Boy Governor" & Presidential Hopeful: Overview|publisher=Minnesota History Center: Gale Family Library|accessdate=June 5, 2020}}</ref>  [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Bill Clinton]] was elected in  [[Arkansas]] in 1978, the second youngest person elected as a governor. Despite his early success in Minnesota politics, over the years the [[Moderate Republican]] Stassen became known as a [[perennial candidate]]  for many offices, including [[U.S. President]], [[U.S. Senator]], and governor of [[Pennsylvania]] and [[mayor]] of [[Philadelphia]], where he moved in 1948 to become the president of the [[University of Pennsylvania]].  

His strongest of the losing campaigns occurred in 1948, when Stassen, initially favored to win  the presidential nomination, lost out on the third convention ballot to fellow Moderate Republican [[Thomas E. Dewey]], then the governor of [[New York]]. In that race, the two debated on [[radio]] days prior to the [[Oregon]] [[primary]], the first time candidates had faced off in the media. An issue that separated them was Stassen's support for outlawing the [[Communist Party]] in the United States. Dewey took the view that regulation of the communist activities should be monitored but that the radical elements could not be simply be "outlawed."

His strongest of the losing campaigns occurred in 1948, when Stassen, initially favored to win  the presidential nomination, lost out on the third convention ballot to fellow Moderate Republican [[Thomas E. Dewey]], then the governor of [[New York]]. In that race, the two debated on [[radio]] days prior to the [[Oregon]] [[primary]], the first time candidates had faced off in the media. An issue that separated them was Stassen's support for outlawing the [[Communist Party]] in the United States. Dewey took the view that regulation of the communist activities should be monitored but that the radical elements could not be simply be "outlawed."

Stassen was the third of five children of [[Germany|German]] and [[Czech]] extraction born in West St. Paul in Dakota County, Minnesota, to William Andrew Stassen (1873-1962), who was the mayor of West St. Paul, and the former Elsie Emma Mueller (1876-1959). Stassen married the former Esther Ethel Glewwe (1906-2000). The Stassens had a son, Glen Harold Stassen (1936-2014). The Stassens are interred at Acacia Cemetery in Mendota Heights in Dakota County.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20853/harold-edward-stassen|title=Harold Edward Stassen|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=June 5, 2020}}</ref> He received his bachelor's degree and LLB from the [[University of Minnesota]].

Stassen was the third of five children of [[Germany|German]] and [[Czech]] extraction born in West St. Paul in Dakota County, Minnesota, to William Andrew Stassen (1873–1962), who was the mayor of West St. Paul, and the former Elsie Emma Mueller (1876–1959). Stassen married the former Esther Ethel Glewwe (1906–2000). The Stassens had a son, Glen Harold Stassen (1936–2014). The Stassens are interred at Acacia Cemetery in Mendota Heights in Dakota County.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20853/harold-edward-stassen|title=Harold Edward Stassen|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=June 5, 2020}}</ref> He received his bachelor's degree and LLB from the [[University of Minnesota]].

He was elected to three two-year terms as governor but resigned in 1943 to join the [[United States Navy]], in which he became an aide to Admiral [[William F. Halsey, Jr.]] In 1940, he had delivered the keynote address at the [[Republican National Convention]] held in Philadelphia. In 1952, Stassen again ran for president but shifted his support at a critical time in the convention in [[Chicago]] to [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who then won the nomination over [[Robert A. Taft]] of [[Ohio]] and the [[general election]] over the Democrat former governor of [[Illinois]], [[Adlai Stevenson]]. Stassen then served in the Eisenhower administration as the director of the United States Foreign Operations Administration and the Mutual Security Agency.

He was elected to three two-year terms as governor but resigned in 1943 to join the [[United States Navy]], in which he became an aide to Admiral [[William F. Halsey, Jr.]] In 1940, he had delivered the keynote address at the [[Republican National Convention]] held in Philadelphia. In 1952, Stassen again ran for president but shifted his support at a critical time in the convention in [[Chicago]] to [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who then won the nomination over [[Robert A. Taft]] of [[Ohio]] and the [[general election]] over the Democrat former governor of [[Illinois]], [[Adlai Stevenson]]. Stassen then served in the Eisenhower administration as the director of the United States Foreign Operations Administration and the Mutual Security Agency.

==References==

==References==

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[[Category:Minnesota]]

[[Category:Minnesota]]

[[Category:Pennsylvania]]

[[Category:Pennsylvania]]

[[Category:United States Navy]]

[[Category:United States Navy]]

[[Category:World War II]]

[[Category:World War II]]