Al Quie was a longtime moderate Republican political figure in Minnesota, including serving as a prominent member of the United States House of Representatives and as Minnesota's governor.
Quie would garner a reputation as being a decent and honorable person. Whether or not one aligned with him on a political basis. After politics, he devoted much of his time to Prison Fellowship. A Christian organization focusing on outreach to current and former inmates and justice reform.
Passed away on August 18, 2023
Al Quie has died. He was 99. An exact cause of death was not immediately released to the public, only that it was due to natural causes.
Quie was evidently at his home at the time of his passing. In recent times, he'd been residing at an assisted living facility located in the region of the Twin Cities. In Wayzata, to be more specific.
Quie's first attempt at reaching a political office was as a write-in candidate in 1952. He unsuccessfully sought a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. But Quie would later win a seat in the Minnesota Senate, which he joined in 1955.
In 1958, August H. Andresen died. Andresen had been a long-serving Republican U.S. representative who would become a ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee. At the time of his death, he represented the 1st District of Minnesota in the House. Quie narrowly won the special election to succeed him over the Democratic nominee, Eugene P.
Foley. Later on, Foley served as the head of the Small Business Administration.
Quie won another ten terms in the U.S. House in the ensuing years. Along the way, he was named the House Committee on Education and Labor ranking member. In 1974, he was considered as a possibility to become vice president. New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller was ultimately chosen.
Four years later, Quie was elected governor of Minnesota, and the year proved to be an especially successful one for Republicans in Minnesota. And conversely, poor for Democrats. The result became known as the 'Minnesota Massacre.' Another victor in the so-called massacre, David Durenberger, passed away of heart failure earlier this year.
Quie opted not to run for re-election in 1982. Former Democratic Governor Rudy Perpich would win his old job back instead.
He was a Naval fighter pilot
Al Quie was a native of Wheeling Township, Minnesota. He was the grandson of Norwegian immigrants on both sides of his family. Quie eventually graduated from high school in nearby Northfield.
During World War II, he was a member of the United States Navy. A pilot, Quie was eventually assigned to Naval Air Force Atlantic. As a result of his service, he received the World War II Victory Medal.
After the conclusion of his military career, Quie returned to Northfield and enrolled at St. Olaf College. From which he received a degree in political science.
While there, he met Gretchen Hansen, a fellow student. The two married in 1948 and had five children. Towards the end of 2015, Gretchen died from Parkinson's disease.
Quie died the same day as his Congressional colleague and fellow World War II veteran, James L. Buckley.
