Paul Thissen

Paul Thissen (born December 10, 1966) is a Minnesota politician and the 58th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and current DFL Minority Leader. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 61B, which is in south Minneapolis. First elected in 2002, Thissen has been reelected every two years since.

Family, education and professional career

Thissen was born in Bloomington, Minnesota. His parents, Frank and Barb Thissen, were both lifelong educators. Frank grew up on a farm in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, that the family still owns, and worked for the Saint Paul Public Schools as a teacher, counselor, and administrator. Barb worked for many years as a special education teacher for Richfield Public Schools.

After graduating from the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota, Thissen attended Harvard University and graduated with high honors in 1989. He earned a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1992.