Paul Thissen

Paul Thissen
Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office May 14, 2018
Appointed by	Mark Dayton
Preceded by	David Stras
59th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
In office January 8, 2013 – January 5, 2015
Preceded by	Kurt Zellers
Succeeded by	Kurt Daudt
Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives
In office January 6, 2015 – January 2, 2017
Preceded by	Kurt Daudt
Succeeded by	Melissa Hortman
In office January 4, 2011 – January 7, 2013
Preceded by	Kurt Zellers
Succeeded by	Kurt Daudt
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 61B district
In office January 7, 2003 – April 20, 2018
Preceded by	Mark Gleason
Succeeded by	Jamie Long
Personal details
Born	(1966-12-10) December 10, 1966 (age 57) Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Karen Wilson
Children	3
Education	Harvard University (BA) University of Chicago (JD)

Paul Thissen (born December 10, 1966) is an American politician and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He previously served as the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and DFL Minority Leader. Thissen was the longest-serving leader of the Minnesota House Democrats since Martin Olav Sabo in the 1970s. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 61B in south Minneapolis. First elected in 2002, Thissen was reelected every two years through 2016. On April 17, 2018, Governor Mark Dayton appointed Thissen to the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was sworn in on May 14, 2018. He is the first person to have served both as Minnesota House Speaker and on the Minnesota Supreme Court.^[1]