Joe Repya
Encyclopedia
Joseph "Joe" Repya is a Minnesota
Independence Party
politician, and a retired Lieutenant Colonel
in the U.S. Army. He is currently a candidate for Governor of Minnesota
.
Repya served as an infantry rifle platoon leader during the Vietnam War
from 1970 to 1971. He later served as a helicopter pilot during Operation Desert Shield/Storm from 1990 to 1991. After retiring, Repya came out of retirement and returned to active duty from 2004 to 2006, at the age of 59 he served in Baghdad, Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005.
Repya has been active in Minnesota politics for some time. In 2003, he distributed 30,000 Support Our Troop lawn signs and organized demonstrations in support of the U.S. military. He served as a delegate from Minnesota to the Republican National Convention
in 2004 and 2008, and in 2007 ran unsuccessfully for chair of the Minnesota Republican Party. He left the party in June 2009, saying the party had become "dysfunctional."
Repya is married to Deb, an attorney and has two grown daughters and one granddaughter.
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...
Independence Party
Independence Party of Minnesota
The Independence Party of Minnesota , formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota, is the third largest political party in Minnesota, behind the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Republican Party . It is the political party of former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura , and endorsed former U.S...
politician, and a retired Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in the U.S. Army. He is currently a candidate for 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...
.
Repya served as an infantry rifle platoon leader during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
from 1970 to 1971. He later served as a helicopter pilot during Operation Desert Shield/Storm from 1990 to 1991. After retiring, Repya came out of retirement and returned to active duty from 2004 to 2006, at the age of 59 he served in Baghdad, Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005.
Repya has been active in Minnesota politics for some time. In 2003, he distributed 30,000 Support Our Troop lawn signs and organized demonstrations in support of the U.S. military. He served as a delegate from Minnesota to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in 2004 and 2008, and in 2007 ran unsuccessfully for chair of the Minnesota Republican Party. He left the party in June 2009, saying the party had become "dysfunctional."
Repya is married to Deb, an attorney and has two grown daughters and one granddaughter.