Marlene Johnson
Encyclopedia
Marlene Johnson was the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and the first woman to hold that office. She was elected as the running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...

 of Governor
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...

 Rudy Perpich
Rudy Perpich
Rudolph George "Rudy" Perpich, Sr. was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34th and 36th Governor of Minnesota from December 29, 1976 to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991...

, and held the position from 1983 – 1991.

Marlene Johnson was born and raised in Braham, Minnesota
Braham, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,276 people, 511 households, and 331 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,010.9 people per square mile . There were 566 housing units at an average density of 448.4 per square mile...

.

Lieutenant governor and aftermath

As lieutenant governor, Johnson focused on strengthening and expanding the state’s connections with the rest of the world – in trade, tourism, education, and the arts. She was a particularly outspoken advocate of international educational exchange at the secondary and post-secondary level. She was also awarded the Royal Order of the
Polar Star by the Kingdom of Sweden in 1988.

After leaving office in 1993, Johnson ran for mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, but lost to Norm Coleman
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...

 in the primary election. Later that year, she was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 to serve as associate administrator for management services and human resources in the General Services Administration
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...

.

NAFSA executive director and world community involvement

Johnson currently lives in Washington, D.C. and serves as the Executive Director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
NAFSA: Association of International Educators is a non-profit professional organization for professionals in all areas of international education including education abroad advising and administration, international student advising, campus internationalization, admissions, outreach, overseas...

, the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education. NAFSA’s nearly 10,000 members worldwide enable international education opportunities for thousands of students each year. The association also works to increase awareness of and support for international education and exchange in higher education, government, and the community, with the belief that citizens with international experience and global awareness are crucial to U.S. leadership, competitiveness, and security. Under Johnson’s leadership, NAFSA has become the leading advocate on behalf of international education, actively participating in the public and policy debates that impact the field and emerging as a respected voice in support of educational exchanges as a key tool of U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy.

Johnson serves on the Board of the Communications Consortium Media Center in
Washington, DC, the Advisory Council of the US-China Education Trust
US-China Education Trust
The US-China Education Trust is a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. Founded in 1998 by Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch, the first Chinese-American U.S. Ambassador, USCET seeks to promote US-China relations through a series of education and exchange programs...

, the Senior
Advisory Council of Business for Diplomatic Action, and the Advisory Board of the Center
for Women’s Intercultural Leadership at St Mary’s College -University of Notre Dame. She is
a former Board member of the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange,
AFS-USA, AFS Intercultural Programs, the World Press Institute and the National
Association of Women Business Owners.

External links

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