Name: Andrew Josiah "A.J." Dresner
Born: 10/01/1941
Sex: Male
Place of Residence: Edina, Minnesota
Party: Republican
Family: Wife: Rita, Children: Josiah, William and David
Religion: Jewish
Educational History:
Harvard University - BA, International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies, 1963
University of Chicago - MPP, 1965
Occupational History:
Legislative Assistant, United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (1965-1972)
Assistant to the Deputy National Security Adviser (1972-1976)
Minnesota State Senate (1976-1988)
United States House of Representatives (1988-1992)
Governor of the Heartlands (1992-1997)
Vice President of the United States (1997-2005)
Republican Nominee for President of the United States (2004)
Senior Fellow, Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs (2005-2010)
Chairman of the Metropolitan Council (2007-2010)
United States House of Representatives (2010-Present)
Born in 1941 to Jan Dresner, a Polish immigrant, and Matilda Bakas, a Greek-American seamstress in Queens, NY, Andrew Josiah moved with his parents and three siblings (Paul, Sarah and Barbara) to St. Louis Park, Minnesota in 1950. He attended school there, and after graduating studied International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. He attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, and upon receiving his Master of Public Policy degree, accepted a job as a legislative staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In 1972 he was offered a job as the Assistant to the Deputy National Security Adviser, a position he held until he returned to Minnesota in 1976.
He returned in 1976 upon the death of his father Jan, and subsequently took over management of the grocery store Jan ran until his rapidly spreading cancer confined him to a hospital bed. A. J. ran for Minnesota State Senate that year, by request of his friend and eventual State Senate colleague Jim Ramstad. He served in the Minnesota state Senate until 1988, when he ran for the United States House seat being vacated by Bill Frenzel.
In 1992, he filed and ran for Heartland Governor. He defeated Democrat Reginald Harkins (D-TX) by a 7 point margin. He was reelected in 1994 easily against Democratic challenger Christine Cambell (D-TX). In 1996 he filed and ran in the Republican primary for President of the United States. He took second place in Iowa, staying neck and neck with Senator John Houston in the tight 5 man race against Houston, MW Governor Ben Kalrade (then a Republican), GP Senator Jake Black Deer and NOR Legislator John Dunn. The race didn't end until the second day of the RNC, when Dresner endorsed Houston before the second ballot. Dresner joined the ticket as the Vice Presidential candidate, and the two went on to defeat Sen. Gloria Delaney and Sen. Taft in the general election.
After his unsuccessful bid for the Presidency in 2004, Dresner returned to his native Minnesota and took a position teaching graduate students at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute. He stayed active in local Minnesota politics, serving as head of the Met Council, which overseas Twin Cities Metro Area transportation and other issues. Upon the resignation of Rep. Jim Ramstad in 2008, rumors began to emerge that A. J. was interested in running for the seat he had been elected to nearly 20 years previous. Dresner decided against running, and the seat was taken in an upset by Democrat Ashwin Madia. Two years later, Dresner announced his intention to run for the seat in 2010. He was elected with a comfortable 57% of the vote.