Editing Rudy Boschwitz

{{Short description|American politician (born 1930)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birthname           = Rudolph Ely Boschwitz
| image name          = Rudy Boschwitz.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1983
| office              = [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council|United States ambassador to the UNCHR]]
| president           = [[George W. Bush]]
| term_start          = March 17, 2005
| term_end            = June 16, 2006
| predecessor         = [[Richard S. Williamson]]
| successor           = ''office abolished''{{efn|[[Eileen Donahoe]] as ambassador to the Human Rights Council}}
| jr/sr1              = United States senator
| state1              = [[Minnesota]]
| term_start1         = December 30, 1978
| term_end1           = January 3, 1991
| preceded1           = [[Wendell R. Anderson]]
| succeeded1          = [[Paul Wellstone]]
| office2             = Chair of the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]]
| term_start2         = January 3, 1987
| term_end2           = January 3, 1989
| preceded2           = [[John Heinz]]
| succeeded2          = [[Don Nickles]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1930|11|7}}
| birth_place         = Berlin, [[Weimar Republic]]<br/>(now Germany)
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]<br />[[Republican Party of Minnesota#Independent-Republican era|Independent-Republicans of&nbsp;Minnesota]] (1975–1995)
| alma_mater          = [[New York University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| spouse              = {{marriage|Ellen Antoinette Loewenstein|1956}}
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| branch              = {{army|United States}}
| branch_label        = Branch
| serviceyears        = 1954–1955
| serviceyears_label  = Service&nbsp;years
| unit                = [[United States Army Signal Corps|Signal Corps]]
| rank                = Private First Class
| children            = 4
}}
[[File:RudyBoschwitz.jpg|thumb|Rudy Boschwitz as U.S. senator]]
'''Rudolph Ely “Rudy” Boschwitz''' (born November 7, 1930)<ref>{{cite web |title=Boschwitz, Rudolph Eli (Rudy) |url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=b000647 |website=bioguideretro.com |access-date=March 4, 2020}}</ref> is an American politician and businessman from the state of [[Minnesota]]. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], he served as a member of the [[United States Senate]] from 1978 to 1991.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-14 |title=Rudy Boschwitz {{!}} Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/rudy-boschwitz |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |language=en}}</ref> From 1987 to 1989, Boschwitz served as the chairman of the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]].

Boschwitz was born in [[Berlin]] to a Jewish family. When he was two years old, he and his family fled the country due to [[Adolf Hitler]]'s rise to power. He grew up in [[New Rochelle, New York]], and graduated with a [[Juris Doctor]] degree from [[New York University School of Law]] in 1953. Boschwitz moved to Minnesota, where he started a retail [[lumber]] store chain, Plywood Minnesota (later renamed Home Valu). He grew it into a successful business with 70 stores. Boschwitz became well known for starring in Plywood Minnesota's television commercials, wearing his signature plaid flannel shirts. Home Valu Interiors went out of business in May 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feyder |first=Susan |date=January 12, 2010 |title=Final nail in Plywood Minnesota |url=https://www.startribune.com/final-nail-in-plywood-minnesota/81171187/ |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=Star Tribune |language=en}}</ref>

Boschwitz first ran for elected office in Minnesota's [[1978 United States Senate election in Minnesota|1978 U.S. Senate election]] and defeated [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] incumbent [[Wendell R. Anderson]]. He was reelected in [[1984 United States Senate election in Minnesota|1984]] by a landslide. From 1987 to 1989, he chaired the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]]. Boschwitz ran for reelection to a third term in the [[1990 United States Senate election in Minnesota|1990 election]] against Democrat [[Paul Wellstone]]. He significantly outspent Wellstone and was expected to win, but lost in an upset. He was defeated again by Wellstone (who was re-elected) in a rematch in [[1996 United States Senate election in Minnesota|1996]]. Boschwitz was later appointed to the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] by [[President of the United States]] [[George W. Bush]], and served on the commission from 2005 until 2006. As of 2025, Boschwitz is the oldest living former elected U.S. senator since the death of [[Daniel J. Evans]].

==Early life and education==
[[File:Reagan Contact Sheet C49648 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|210px|Boschwitz with [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Gretchen Carlson]] in 1988]]
[[File:U.S. Representatives at the 61st Commission on Human Rights (01).jpg|thumb|right|210px|Boschwitz makes a point at the 61st Commission on Human Rights in 2005]]
Boschwitz was born November 7, 1930, in [[Berlin]], Germany, the son of Lucy (née Dawidowicz) and Eli Boschwitz.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-2587503365/boschwitz-rudolph-eli.html|title=Boschwitz, Rudolph Eli – Dictionary definition of Boschwitz, Rudolph Eli |website= Encyclopedia.com|access-date=December 5, 2016}}</ref> In 1933, when he was two years old, his Jewish family fled Nazi Germany for the United States, settling in [[New Rochelle, New York]], where he grew up. A graduate of [[The Pennington School]], he attended [[Johns Hopkins University]] and graduated from the [[New York University Stern School of Business]] in 1950 and the [[New York University School of Law]] in 1953.

==Career==
Boschwitz was admitted to the New York State bar in 1954 and the [[Wisconsin]] bar in 1959. He served in the [[United States Army Signal Corps]] from 1954 to 1955, becoming a private first class.<ref>[https://freedomfoundationofminnesota.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Legacy_of_Leadership_-_Web_-_low_Rez.pdf "A Legacy of Leadership: Rudy Boschwitz and the Rise of the modern Conservative Movement in Minnesota"], Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, page 6 (see photo o top right of page).</ref> He was the founder and chairman of a [[plywood]] and home improvement retailer, Plywood Minnesota, which later became Home Valu Interiors. He returned to the company after his political career, and led it until it went out of business in May 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.startribune.com/final-nail-in-plywood-minnesota/81171187/ |title=Final nail in Plywood Minnesota |date=January 12, 2010 |last=Feyder |first=Susan |newspaper=[[Star Tribune]] |accessdate=June 12, 2023}}</ref>

Boschwitz was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in November 1978 and appointed on December 30, 1978, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[Wendell R. Anderson]], who was appointed to fill the seat after [[Walter Mondale]] was elected [[Vice President of the United States]] in [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]. Boschwitz was well known in Minnesota for operating a "flavored milk" booth at the [[Minnesota State Fair]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Boschwitz gets reprieve; will have milk at fair |url=https://www.postbulletin.com/boschwitz-gets-reprieve-will-have-milk-at-fair |website=Post-Bulletin |date=July 18, 1991 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Boschwitz voted in favor of the [[Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] to establish [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] as a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]] and the [[Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987]] (as well as to override [[President of the United States]] [[Ronald Reagan]]'s veto).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|title=To Pass H.R. 3706. (Motion Passes) See Notes(s) 19. Senate Vote #293, Oct 19, 1983|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|title=To Pass S 557, Civil Rights Restoration Act, A Bill to ... Senate Vote #432 – Jan 28, 1988|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|title=To Adopt, Over the President's Veto of S 557, Civil ... Senate Vote #487 – Mar 22, 1988|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref> He voted to confirm [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination]], which failed when [[Robert Bork]] was unconfirmed.

Boschwitz is known for one of the more interesting campaign buttons in Minnesota politics; the [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] alleged that Boschwitz's donors were "[[Fat cat|fat cats]]", so Boschwitz's campaign created a "skinny cat" campaign button to be worn by those who had donated less than $100 to his campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hennepinhistorymuseumblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/the-skinny-cats-of-minnesota-politics/|title=The Skinny Cats of Minnesota Politics|website=Hennepin History Museum|date=February 27, 2016|access-date=December 5, 2016}}</ref>

After his 1990 defeat by Paul Wellstone, Boschwitz ran against Wellstone again in 1996 and lost again.

In 1991 he traveled to [[Ethiopia]] as the emissary of U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]]. The negotiations Boschwitz led in Ethiopia resulted in [[Operation Solomon]]. Over 14,000 Jewish people were airlifted from Ethiopia to Israel.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Ethiopian Regime Will Allow Remaining Jews to Leave, Says Envoy |url=https://www.jta.org/1991/06/05/archive/new-ethiopian-regime-will-allow-remaining-jews-to-leave-says-envoy |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |access-date=April 23, 2021 |date=June 5, 1991}}</ref> Operation Solomon took twice as many Beta Israel émigrés to Israel as [[Operation Moses]] and [[Operation Joshua]] combined.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rozen-Wheeler |first1=Adam |title=Operations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon (1984–1991) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/operations-moses-joshua-and-solomon-1984-1991/ |website=blackpast.org |access-date=April 23, 2021 |date=July 22, 2017}}</ref>

Boschwitz was a top "Bush Pioneer" in 2000, raising $388,193, and a "Bush Ranger" in 2004, raising at least $200,000 for [[George W. Bush]]'s campaign fund in that election cycle.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tpj.org/docs/pioneers/pioneers_view.jsp?id=219 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004165535/http://www.tpj.org/docs/pioneers/pioneers_view.jsp?id=219 |url-status=dead |website=Texans for Public Justice |title=Bush Donor Profile |archivedate=October 4, 2007}}</ref>

In 2005, Bush named Boschwitz as the [[List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Nations Human Rights Council|United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights]], which met at the U.N. in [[Geneva]].

== Later life ==
Boschwitz supported [[John McCain 2008 presidential campaign|John McCain]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scheck |first1=Tom |title=McCain's Minnesota bundlers |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2008/07/15/mccains-minnesota-bundlers |website=mprnews.org |date=July 15, 2008 |access-date=March 4, 2020}}</ref> He later served on the board of directors of the [[Jewish Institute for National Security of America]], was a board member of the [[AIPAC]] (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), and was a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]]. Upon the death of [[Daniel J. Evans]] in September 2024, Boschwitz became the oldest living person to have served as an elected member of the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wildstein |first=David |date=2024-09-22 |title=Evans' death leaves Nicholas Brady of N.J. as nation's oldest-living ex-U.S. Senator |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/evans-death-leaves-nicholas-brady-of-n-j-as-nations-oldest-living-ex-u-s-senator/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=New Jersey Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Boschwitz married his wife, the former Ellen Antoinette Loewenstein, in 1956, and they had four sons, Gerry (died December 30, 2018), Kenneth, Daniel, and Thomas. Together, they also had two granddaughters and four grandsons.

==Electoral history==
*'''[[United States Senate election in Minnesota, 1978|1978 Race for U.S. Senate]]'''
**Rudy Boschwitz (R), 57%
**[[Wendell Anderson]] (DFL) (inc.), 40%
*'''[[United States Senate election in Minnesota, 1984|1984 Race for U.S. Senate]]'''
**Rudy Boschwitz (R) (inc.), 58%
**[[Joan Anderson Growe]] (DFL), 41%
*'''[[United States Senate election in Minnesota, 1990|1990 Race for U.S. Senate]]'''
**[[Paul Wellstone]] (DFL), 50%
**Rudy Boschwitz (R) (inc.), 48%
*'''[[United States Senate election in Minnesota, 1996|1996 Race for U.S. Senate]]'''
**[[Paul Wellstone]] (DFL) (inc.), 50%
**Rudy Boschwitz (R), 41%
** [[Dean Barkley]] (Ref.), 7%

==See also==
*[[List of Jewish members of the United States Congress]]
*[[List of United States senators born outside the United States]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00013.xml Rudy Boschwitz: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society]
*{{C-SPAN|495}}
{{CongLinks | congbio = B000647}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boschwitz, Rudy}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
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