Ole P. Hoff was a Norwegian-American

Norwegian American

Norwegian Americans are Americans of Norwegian descent. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the later half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans according to the most recent U.S. census, and...

 Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician and the first commissioner of labor in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. Hoff was the sole employee of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Inspector of Factories and Workshops (now the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries

Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries is an agency in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is headed by the Commissioner of Labor and Industries, a nonpartisan, statewide elective office. The term of office is four years...

) when he was appointed commissioner after the bureau's creation by the state legislature

Oregon Legislative Assembly

The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...

 on June 2, 1903. He served as Labor Commissioner until 1919, when he became the Oregon State Treasurer

Oregon State Treasurer

The Oregon State Treasurer is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, elected by statewide vote to serve a four year term. As chief financial officer for the state, the office holder heads the Oregon State Treasury, and with the Governor...

. He died in office on March 18, 1924.

Early life

Ole P. Hoff was born in Hadeland

Hadeland

Hadeland is a traditional district in the south-eastern part of Norway. It is located around the southern part of lake Randsfjorden in Oppland county, and consists of the municipalities of Gran, Jevnaker and Lunner. Hadeland occupies the area north of the hills of Nordmarka close to the Norwegian...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 on May 17, 1853. After leaving Norway in 1870, he first settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...

, then in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 before briefly coming to Oregon in 1875. He returned to California until 1879, when he settled permanently in Oregon. From 1870 to 1879 he worked in farming, logging, mill work and mining. In 1881 he started 13 years of work as a railroad agent, and also worked as a postmaster during this time. He married Cynthia Alice Parsons in Eugene

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

 on May 13, 1880; they had two children, who were born in Irving, Oregon

Irving, Eugene, Oregon

Irving was an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, and now within the Eugene city limits. Irving Depot was a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad's Valley Line between Eugene and Junction City, first named "Halletts" when the line was built in 1872. J. L...

. He was a member of the Elks

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...

 and Masons

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

, and the Masonic orders of the Shrine and Knights Templar.

Labor commissioner

Hoff was the first leader of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to conduct safety inspections of factories. In 1906, he reported that 653 of the 673 factories inspected had dangerous or unsafe conditions, but he won the authority to fine violators and force compliance with safety laws. Under Hoff's leadership of BOLI, Oregon created the first enforceable minimum wage law

Minimum wage law

Minimum wage law is the body of law which prohibits employers from hiring employees or workers for less than a given hourly, daily or monthly minimum wage. More than 90% of all countries have some kind of minimum wage legislation....

 in the United States, enacted a child labor

Child labor

Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...

 law, and pursued a shorter 10-hour working day for women. He was also an advocate for teachers, whom he called "about the poorest paid class of wage earners in the state." After his appointment by Governor Chamberlain

George Earle Chamberlain

George Earle Chamberlain was an American politician, legislator, and public official in Oregon. A native of Mississippi and trained lawyer, he served as the 11th Governor of Oregon, a representative in the Oregon Legislative Assembly, a United States Senator.-Early life:Chamberlain was born near...

 in 1903, Hoff was elected to the position for a full four-year term in 1906 and reelected in 1910 and 1914. He continued in office until January 6, 1919 and was replaced by Charles H. Gram who had been elected in 1918.