Edward John Thye was an American politician

Politics of the United States

The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...

. He was the 26th Governor of Minnesota

Governor of Minnesota

The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...

 and a United States Senator from Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

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Background

Thye was born near Frederick, South Dakota

Frederick, South Dakota

Frederick is a town in Brown County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 199 at the 2010 census. Home to the annual Frederick Finn Fest, the town is part of the Aberdeen Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, the son of Andrew J. Thye, a Norwegian immigrant farmer. His family moved to a farm near Northfield, Minnesota

Northfield, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...

, when he was a young boy. After serving in the Army Air Corps

United States Army Air Corps

The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he became a tractor expert and salesman for the Deere and Webber Company of Minneapolis. In 1922 he resigned to become manager and, later, owner of a dairy farm near Northfield.

Political career

In 1929, Thye was elected president of the Dakota County Farm Bureau. He was appointed as Minnesota's Dairy and Food Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture (1939–1942).

Thye was elected the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota in 1942, and became the 26th Governor of Minnesota in 1943 when Governor Harold Stassen

Harold Stassen

Harold Edward Stassen was the 25th Governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943. After service in World War II, from 1948 to 1953 he was president of the University of Pennsylvania...

 resigned to join the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. He was Governor from 1943 until 1947.

Thye was elected as a United States Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in 1946 after defeating Henrik Shipstead

Henrik Shipstead

Henrik Shipstead was an American politician. He served in the United States Senate from March 4, 1923, to January 3, 1947, from the state of Minnesota in the 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, and 79th Congresses...

 in the Republican primary and defeating the Democratic candidate, Theodore Jorgenson, with 58.9% of the vote. He served in the Senate from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1959, in the 80th

80th United States Congress

The Eightieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth...

, 81st

81st United States Congress

The Eighty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives...

, 82nd

82nd United States Congress

The Eighty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1951 to January 3, 1953, during the last two years...

, 83rd

83rd United States Congress

The Eighty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1955, during the first two years...

, 84th

84th United States Congress

The Eighty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1957, during the third and...

, and 85th Congresses

85th United States Congress

The Eighty-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1957 to January 3, 1959, during the fifth and sixth...

. He lost his reelection bid in 1958 to Eugene McCarthy

Eugene McCarthy

Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...

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Personal information

Thye married Hazel Ramage in 1921; she died in 1936. In 1942, he married Myrtle Ennor Oliver. He died in 1969 in Northfield, Minnesota

Northfield, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...

, aged 73, and is buried at the Oaklawn Cemetery in Northfield

Northfield, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...

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