Kristjan Valdimar "Val" Bjornson (August 29, 1906 – March 10, 1987) was an American writer, newspaper editor, and politician who served as the State Treasurer of Minnesota for more than two decades.[1]
Bjornson was born in Minneota, Minnesota of Icelandic descent.[2] In World War II, he served in Navy intelligence, stationed in Iceland.[3] Besides English, he was fluent in Icelandic, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian.[4]
He was part owner of the Minneota Mascot newspaper and an associate editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press.[5]
Running as the Republican candidate in the 1954 United States Senate elections, Bjornson lost to Hubert Humphrey, with whom he sometimes shared a car to travel around the state.[6]
Bjornson died in Minneapolis on March 10, 1987.[7] The University of Minnesota, his alma mater, and the University of Iceland have a student exchange scholarship named in his honor.[8]
- ^ "Val Bjornson". The New York Times. March 12, 1987. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
- ^ CQ Weekly Report, Volume 12, page 1040. Congressional Quarterly, 1954
- ^ "Iceland Minnesota". Archived from the original on 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
- ^ "National Affairs: Who Won". Time. September 27, 1954. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ "Craving some quiet".
- ^ "Column: Thoughts of Val Bjornson, and a Worthington visit | Worthington Daily Globe | Worthington, Minnesota". www.dglobe.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011.
- ^ "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Bishoprick to Blacey".
- ^ "News & Events".