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Begich, Joseph R. "Joe"

House 1975-82 (District 6A); House 1983-92 (District 6B)

Party when first elected:  Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Counties Served:  St. Louis

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Date of Birth: 1/17/1930
Birth Place: Eveleth, Minnesota
Birth County: St. Louis
Birth Country: United States
Date of Death: 8/10/2019
Gender: Male
Religion: Catholic
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names: Joe
City of Residence (when first elected): Eveleth
Occupation (when first elected): Management, Mining

EDUCATION

Eveleth High School; Secondary; Graduate, 1947
ICS School, United States Army; Postsecondary; Officer Training, 2 years

OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

Military: United States Army Infantry (Korea, 4.5 years); 19?? to 19??
Municipal Mayor: Eveleth, Minnesota (City Mayor); 1965 to 1974
State Board/Commission/Council: Minnesota Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (Legislative Member, Chair); 1977 to 1992
State Board/Commission/Council: Minnesota Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation/Iron Range Resources Board (Citizen Member); 1999 to 20??

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Spouse: Carolyn
Children: One child: Rebecca (daughter)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

GENERAL NOTES

He had Croatian ancestry.

He was a member of the Evelth, Minnesota Hospital Board.

A section of Hwy. 101 was renamed "Representative Joe Begich Highway" in 2017.

Religion provided by the Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1979-80.

Total Days Served: 6573

SESSIONS SERVED

77th Legislative Session (1991-1992)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/8/1991
Body: House
District: 06B
Elected: 11/6/1990
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/7/1991 to 1/3/1993
Oath Date: 1/8/1991
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Legislator/Consultant/Retired, Taconite Industry
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Labor-Management Relations (Chair)
  • Labor-Management Relations: Worker's Compensation and Unemployment Insurance
  • Rules and Legislative Administration
  • Taxes
  • Taxes: Property Tax
  • Transportation
  • Transportation: Safety

76th Legislative Session (1989-1990)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/3/1989
Body: House
District: 06B
Elected: 11/8/1988
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/2/1989 to 1/6/1991
Oath Date: 1/3/1989
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Legislator/Consultant/Retired, Taconite Industry
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Environment and Natural Resources: Environment
  • Labor-Management Relations (Chair)
  • Labor-Management Relations: Unemployment Insurance and Workers' Compensation
  • Taxes
  • Taxes: Property Tax
  • Transportation
  • Transportation: Safety

75th Legislative Session (1987-1988)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/6/1987
Body: House
District: 06B
Elected: 11/4/1986
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/5/1987 to 1/1/1989
Oath Date: 1/6/1987
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Legislator/Consultant/Retired, Mining Management, Taconite Industry
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Labor-Management Relations (Chair)
  • Labor-Management Relations: Unemployment Insurance and Workers Compensation Division
  • Taxes
  • Taxes: Tax Law Division
  • Transportation
  • Transportation: Highways and Motor Vehicles

74th Legislative Session (1985-1986)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/8/1985
Body: House
District: 06B
Elected: 11/6/1984
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/7/1985 to 1/4/1987
Oath Date: 1/8/1985
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Retired Miner/Legislator
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Environment and Natural Resources: Environment
  • Labor-Management Relations
  • Labor-Management Relations: Unemployment Insurance and Workers Compensation Division
  • Taxes

73rd Legislative Session (1983-1984)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/4/1983
Body: House
District: 06B
Elected: 11/2/1982
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/3/1983 to 1/6/1985
Oath Date: 1/4/1983
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Mining, Management
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Environment and Natural Resources: Environment
  • Labor-Management Relations (Chair)
  • Labor-Management Relations: General Labor Legislation
  • Labor-Management Relations: Workers' Compensation Division
  • Taxes
  • Taxes: Tax Laws Division
  • Taxes: Tax Laws Division: State-Local Fiscal Affairs Subcommittee

72nd Legislative Session (1981-1982)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/6/1981
Body: House
District: 06A
Elected: 11/4/1980
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/5/1981 to 1/2/1983
Oath Date: 1/6/1981
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Mining, Management
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Environment and Natural Resources: Environment
  • Labor-Management Relations
  • Labor-Management Relations: Workers Compensation (Chair)
  • Taxes
  • Taxes: Mineral Taxation (Chair)
  • Taxes: Tax Laws Division

71st Legislative Session (1979-1980)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/3/1979
Body: House
District: 06A
Elected: 11/7/1978
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/1/1979 to 1/4/1981
Oath Date: 1/3/1979
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Assistant General Foreman, Maintenance, Erie Mining
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Labor-Management Relations
  • Labor-Management Relations: Worker's Compensation (Chair)
  • Rules and Legislative Administration [He served in 1979 only.]
  • Taxes
  • Taxes: Division II - Property and Natural Resources Division

70th Legislative Session (1977-1978)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/4/1977
Body: House
District: 06A
Elected: 11/2/1976
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/3/1977 to 12/31/1978
Oath Date: 1/4/1977
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Mining, Management, Erie Mining
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • Labor-Management Relations
  • Local and Urban Affairs

69th Legislative Session (1975-1976)

  Session Details   Convened Date: 1/7/1975
Body: House
District: 06A
Elected: 11/5/1974
Residence: Eveleth
Term of Office: 1/6/1975 to 1/2/1977
Oath Date: 1/7/1975
Counties Represented: St. Louis
Occupation: Management, Mining
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
  • Environment and Natural Resources
  • General Legislation and Veterans Affairs
  • Local and Urban Affairs

Articles & Books About

News Sources

The Library maintains newspaper clippings on individual legislators during their terms. Clippings are available from 1973 to the present in a variety of formats: 1973-1999, microfiche available at the Library; 2000-2009, scanned in yearly compilations and digitally available on the legislative network; 2009-present, archived in a searchable database maintained by the Library and available on the legislative network.
These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.