Spear, Allan H.

Allan H. Spear was born Michigan City, Indiana in 1937. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1958 and earned an M.A.(1960) and a PhD from Yale University (1965). In 1965, Spear was hired in the History Department at the University of Minnesota to teach American and African American History. He continued to teach at the University while serving in the Minnesota Legislature.

Spear was elected to the Minnesota State Senate on the DFL ticket in 1972. He served in districts that were reapportioned, representing Hennepin County districts 57 (1973-1983), 59 (1983-1992), and 60 (1993-2000). Spear was elected the seventh President of the Minnesota Senate, holding office between 1993 and 2000, and was the first legislator who was not an attorney to chair the State Judiciary committee. He served on the State Crime Prevention Committee, State Board Council, and the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Boards.

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