Paul Thissen

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.

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 J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1992.

Thissen is married to Karen Wilson Thissen.

They have three children.

Thissen clerked for James B. Loken of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and then went to work at the Minneapolis law firm of Briggs & Morgan, where he specialized in general litigation and appellate work and served as chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee.

During Thissen's tenure, he pioneered new approaches for lawyers to serve the community, initiating partnerships with several local non-profits.

The firm more than doubled the hours of free legal services it provided to low-income individuals and nonprofits.

Thissen also worked for the Minnesota State Public Defender's Office and founded "Access for Persons with Disabilities," a group of lawyers dedicated to providing legal services to persons with disabilities.

Thissen later worked as an attorney specializing in health care law at the Minneapolis office of the law firm of Ballard Spahr.

First elected in 2002, Thissen was reelected every two years through 2016.

Thissen was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2002, in his first run for public office.

During his first two terms, Thissen was a key player in passing major changes to Minnesota's eminent domain laws to protect the rights of individual property owners, the merger of the insolvent Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund into the statewide teacher's pension fund, a nation-leading law to curb abusive tax-preparer practices, and an overhaul of state campaign law.

In 2006, he was named one of "Forty Under 40" top business professionals in the Twin Cities by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal.

In 2006, Thissen served as Finance Co-Chair of the House DFL Caucus and raised more money than the Republican opposition.

In the election that November, the DFL added 19 seats to its majority.

Politics in Minnesota named Thissen one of the big "winners" of the 2006 election in its November 9, 2006 edition.

From 2007 to 2010, Thissen served as chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.

The proposal, which would provide health coverage to all children in Minnesota families who make under $60,000 per year, passed the Minnesota House in 2007.

Thissen served on the Health Care Access Commission and also served on Governor Tim Pawlenty's Health Transformation Taskforce.

In 2008, he was named one of the "Best Brains" in the Twin Cities by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.

In 2008 and 2012, Paul was recognized as one of the 100 Influential Minnesotans in Health Care by Physician Magazine.

In 2008, he played a key role in passing health-care reform legislation that the Minneapolis Star Tribune named the prize of the 2008 session.

In the 2010 election, the DFL lost its majority in the Minnesota House.

Before becoming minority leader in 2011, he also served on the Health Finance Committee, the Biosciences Committee, the Telecommunications Division, the Finance Committee, the Rules Committee and the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement.

Thissen also served as speaker pro tempore.

Thissen was chief author of HF 1, the Children's Health Security Act.

In 2013, he was named the sixth most powerful person in Minnesota by Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Thissen has been active in community activities.

He served on the boards of the Minnesota Justice Foundation and numerous other local nonprofits.

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.

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.