Editing C. Elmer Anderson

{{Short description|American politician (1912–1998)}}
{{for|the governor of Minnesota from 1961 to 1963|Elmer L. Andersen}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image=C. Elmer Anderson.jpg
|imagesize=
|caption=
|office4= Mayor of [[Brainerd, Minnesota]]
|term_start4= 1976
|term_end4= 1983
|order1= 28th
|office1= Governor of Minnesota
|term_start1=September 27, 1951
|term_end1=January 5, 1955
|lieutenant1=[[Ancher Nelsen]]<br />[[Donald O. Wright]]
|predecessor1= [[Luther Youngdahl]]
|successor1= [[Orville Freeman]]
|order2= 30th and 33rd
|office2= Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
|term_start2=January 2, 1945
|term_end2=September 27, 1951
|term_start3=January 2, 1939
|term_end3=January 4, 1943
|governor3=[[Harold Stassen]]
|predecessor3= [[Gottfrid Lindsten]]
|successor3= [[Edward John Thye]]
|governor2=[[Edward J. Thye]]<br />[[Luther W. Youngdahl]]
|predecessor2= [[Archie H. Miller]]
|successor2= [[Ancher Nelsen]]
|birth_name=Clyde Elmer Anderson
|birth_date= {{birth date|1912|3|16}}
|birth_place= [[Brainerd, Minnesota]], U.S.
|death_date= {{death date and age|1998|1|22|1912|3|16}}
|death_place= Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S.
|party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|alma_mater=[[University of Minnesota Medical School]]<br/>(Did not graduate)
|profession=politician
|spouse=Lillian Otterstad
}}
'''Clyde Elmer Anderson''' (March 16, 1912 – January 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the [[List of Governors of Minnesota|28th governor of Minnesota]] from September 27, 1951 to January 5, 1955. Anderson also served as the [[lieutenant governor of Minnesota]] from 1939 to 1943 and again from 1945 to 1951.

==Life and career==
Anderson was born in [[Brainerd, Minnesota]], in 1912 to Fred and Anna Anderson, [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland|Swedish-speaking Finnish]] immigrants from Lappfors in [[Esse, Finland]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Myhrman |first=Anders |title=Finlandssvenskar i Amerika |publisher=[[Society of Swedish Literature in Finland]] |year=1972 |isbn=9789519017044 |location=Helsinki |pages=269 |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Alanen |first=Arnold Robert |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/918316682 |title=Finns in Minnesota |publisher=[[Minnesota Historical Society Press]] |year=2012 |isbn=9780873518604 |location=St. Paul, Minn. |chapter=Finland Swedes|oclc=918316682 }}</ref> His father died when he was 14, forcing him to get a job with a magazine and newspaper company to help support the family. He attended [[Brainerd High School (Minnesota)|Brainerd High School]] and spent two quarters at the [[University of Minnesota]] studying medicine before running out of tuition money and returning home to continue working.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|title=Former Gov. C. Elmer Anderson dead at 85|url=http://www.mndaily.com/1998/01/23/former-gov-c-elmer-anderson-dead-85|work=Minnesota Daily|agency=Associated Press|date=23 January 1998|access-date=October 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094845/http://www.mndaily.com/1998/01/23/former-gov-c-elmer-anderson-dead-85|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="mnhs1">{{cite web|url=http://collections.mnhs.org/governors/index.php/10004222|title=C. Elmer Anderson Biography|website=Minnesota Historical Society|access-date=October 26, 2015|archive-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910113623/http://collections.mnhs.org/governors/index.php/10004222|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1938, he ran for [[List of lieutenant governors of Minnesota|lieutenant governor]] of Minnesota with [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] gubernatorial candidate [[Harold Stassen]] and won. At 31 and 26 years old, respectively, Stassen and Anderson were the youngest governor and lieutenant governor in state history. Anderson was reelected lieutenant governor five more times under three different governors. He holds the record for the most total years served as the state's lieutenant governor.<ref name=obit/><ref name="mnhs1"/>

In September 1951, Anderson became governor when [[Luther Youngdahl]] resigned to become a federal judge in Washington, D.C. He won election to a full term in 1952 but was defeated by [[Orville Freeman]] two years later. After leaving the governor's office, he served as mayor of [[Nisswa, Minnesota|Nisswa]] from 1961 to 1963 and as mayor of Brainerd from 1976 to 1986. He died in Brainerd in 1998. The C. Elmer Anderson Memorial Highway is named in his honor.<ref name=obit/><ref name="mnhs1"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* The [http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00010.xml C. Elmer Anderson Papers] are available for research use at the [http://www.mnhs.org Minnesota Historical Society.]
*{{Find a Grave|40599070}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Arthur E. Nelson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]|years=[[1938 Minnesota lieutenant gubernatorial election|1938]], [[1940 Minnesota lieutenant gubernatorial election|1940]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edward John Thye]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Edward John Thye}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]|years=[[1944 Minnesota lieutenant gubernatorial election|1944]], [[1946 Minnesota lieutenant gubernatorial election|1946]], [[1948 Minnesota lieutenant gubernatorial election|1948]], [[1950 Minnesota lieutenant gubernatorial election|1950]]}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Ancher Nelsen]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Luther Youngdahl]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Minnesota]]|years=[[1952 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1952]], [[1954 Minnesota gubernatorial election|1954]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Virginia Paul Holm]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Minnesota Secretary of State]]|years=1956}}
{{s-aft|after=L. C. Andersen}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota|Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]|years=1939–1943|before=[[Gottfrid Lindsten]]|after=[[Edward John Thye]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota|Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]|years=1945–1951|before=[[Archie H. Miller]]|after=[[Ancher Nelsen]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Governors of Minnesota|Governor of Minnesota]]|years=1951–1955|before=[[Luther Youngdahl]]|after=[[Orville Freeman]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Minnesota}}
{{MNLieutenantGovernors}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Clyde Elmer}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Brainerd, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Minnesota]]
[[Category:American Lutherans]]
[[Category:University of Minnesota Medical School alumni]]
[[Category:Lieutenant governors of Minnesota]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Minnesota]]
[[Category:People from Nisswa, Minnesota]]
[[Category:20th-century Lutherans]]