March of the Governors #20: Jacob A. O. Preus

March of the Governors, Governor #20
Jacob A. O. Preus
(Series Podcast #21)

By age forty-one, Jacob A. O. Preus had been Minnesota’s insurance commissioner and state auditor and had served two successful terms as governor (1921-1925). On his watch, the Minnesota Republican Party enacted a considerable program of progressive legislation. But the long crisis in farm country and the rise of the Farmer-Labor Party brought him down. Now, decisively defeated by Magnus Johnson for the US Senate, Preus was finished with politics. However, he was far from done piling up accomplishments. He had a long and successful second career in insurance and is the only person in Minnesota history to serve as governor AND found a Fortune 500 company—in his case, Lutheran Brotherhood, now Thrivent, based in Minneapolis.

Image: Oil Painting of Governor Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus by artist Carl Bohnen (1871-1951).