John Thune

John Randolph Thune (born January 7, 1961) is the senior United States Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as a United States Representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district. He became South Dakota's Senior senator with the retirement of Tim Johnson in 2015.

Early life, education, and early political career

Thune was born in the small town of Murdo, South Dakota, the son of Yvonne Patricia (maiden name Bodine), and Harold Richard Thune. Thune's paternal grandfather, Nicholas Thune, was an immigrant from Norway who partnered with his brother Matt to start Thune Hardware stores in Mitchell and Murdo, South Dakota. His maternal grandfather is from the province of Ontario in Canada, and Thune's mother was born in Saskatchewan. Thune has a brother named Richard Thune that lives in California. Thune was a star athlete in high school, and was active in basketball, track, and football and also played college basketball at Biola University. Thune remains athletically active and frequently competes in running events. A 2012 feature by "Runner's World Magazine" noted that Thune has "been the fastest man in Congress since 2009."

John Thune (Norwegian politician)

John Thune (born 2 February 1948) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party.

He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Østfold during the terms 2001–2005, 2005–2009 and 2009–2013.

On the local level Thune was the mayor of Rakkestad municipality from 1999 to 2007.

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