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|name=Edward J. Thye
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|order=[[United States Senator]]<br>from [[Minnesota]]
|term_start=January 3, 1947
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'''Edward John Thye''' (April 26, 1896{{ndash}} August 28, 1969) was an [[
==Early life and education==
Edward Thye was born on a farm near [[Frederick, South Dakota|Frederick]], [[South Dakota]].<ref name=congress>{{cite news|work=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]|title=THYE, Edward John, (1896 - 1969)|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=t000259}}</ref> One of nine children, he was the son of Andrew John and Bertha (née Wangan) Thye.<ref name=current>{{cite book|title=[[Current Biography]]|year=1952|publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company]]}}</ref> His father, a [[farmer]], was born in [[Norway]] and immigrated to the [[United States]] in 1872.<ref name=national>{{cite book|title=[[The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography]]|year=1952|publisher=James T. White & Company}}</ref> His brother was Ted Thye, who became a professional [[Professional wrestling|wrestler]] in the [[Pacific Northwest Wrestling|Pacific Northwest]].<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|date=1969-08-29|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=EDWARD THYE, 73, EX-SENATOR, DIES}}</ref>
In 1904, Thye and his family moved to [[Northfield, Minnesota|Northfield]], [[Minnesota]], where he received his early education at local public schools.<ref name=governors>{{cite book|last1=Sobel|first1=Robert|authorlink1=Robert Sobel|last2=Raimo|first2=John|title=Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978|volume=I|year=1978|publisher=Meckler Books}}</ref> He took courses at the Tractor and Internal Combustion School in [[Minneapolis]] in 1913, and graduated from the American Business College in 1916.<ref name=current/> Following the entry of the United States into [[World War I]], he enlisted as a private in the [[United States Army Air Corps]] in 1917.<ref name=congress/> He served overseas in [[France]], and was eventually promoted to the rank of [[second lieutenant]].<ref name=national/>
==Political career==▼
Following his military service, Thye returned to Minnesota in 1919 and was employed as a tractor expert with the [[John Deere|Deere & Webber Company]] in Minneapolis, becoming a salesman in 1920.<ref name=governors/> He married Hazel Ramage in 1921, and the couple remained married until her death in 1936; they had one daughter, Jean Roberta.<ref name=national/> He continued to work for Deere until 1922, when he became manager and owner of a dairy farm near Northfield.<ref name=mnhs>{{cite news|work=Minnesota Historical Society|title=Edward J. (John) Thye|url=http://www.mnhs.org/people/governors/gov/gov_28.htm}}</ref>
In 1925, Thye was elected to the [[town council]] of [[Sciota Township, Dakota County, Minnesota|Sciota]].<ref name=history>{{cite book|last1=Bjornson|first1=Val|authorlink1=Val Bjornson|title=The History of Minnesota|volume=III|year=1969|publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company}}</ref> He later served a number of years on the Sciota [[Board of education|school board]].<ref name=history/> He was president of the [[Dakota County, Minnesota|Dakota County]] [[American Farm Bureau Federation|Farm Bureau]] (1929-1931), director of Twin City Milk Producers Association (1933), and appraiser for the [[Farm Credit System|Federal Land Bank]] of Minnesota (1933-1934).<ref name=mnhs/> He became friends with [[Harold Stassen]], and actively supported his successful campaign for [[Governor of Minnesota]] in 1938.<ref name=mnhs/> He subsequently served as Minnesota's dairy and food commissioner and deputy commissioner of agriculture (1939-1942).<ref name=congress/>
==Governor of Minnesota==
Thye was elected the 31st [[List of lieutenant governors of Minnesota|Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]] in November 1942.<ref name=congress/> That same month, he was re-married to Myrtle Ennor Oliver; the couple remained married until his death.<ref name=current/> On April 27, 1943, Governor Stassen resigned to serve in the [[United States Navy]] and Thye succeeded him as the 26th Governor of Minnesota.<ref name=history/> He was elected governor in his own right in November 1944, receiving the largest majority ever won by a gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota.<ref name=nytimes/>
During his administration, Thye established the Department of Aeronautics, the Iron Range Rehabilitation Commission, a [[Aftermath of World War II|post-war]] planning commission, and a human rights commission.<ref name=governors/> He also increased spending for highway construction and unemployment compensation.<ref name=governors/>
==U.S. Senate==
Thye was elected as a [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] in 1946 after defeating [[Henrik Shipstead]] in the Republican primary and defeating the Democratic candidate, Theodore Jorgenson, with 58.9% of the vote. He served in the Senate from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1959, in the [[80th United States Congress|80th]], [[81st United States Congress|81st]], [[82nd United States Congress|82nd]], [[83rd United States Congress|83rd]], [[84th United States Congress|84th]], and [[85th United States Congress|85th Congresses]]. He lost his reelection bid in 1958 to [[Eugene McCarthy]].
==Death==
==References==
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