Betty Jo Nelsen

Betty Jo Nelsen (born October 11, 1935) is a retired American politician and former Minority Leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly. A Republican, she represented the northeastern suburbs of Milwaukee from 1979 until 1990 in the Assembly. She left the Assembly to accept an appointment in the administration of President George H. W. Bush as Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service within the United States Department of Agriculture.

Betty Jo Nelsen
Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service
In office
January 16, 1990 – November 6, 1992
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byS. Anna Kondratas
Succeeded byAndrew P. Hornsby Jr. (Acting)
Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Assembly
In office
January 5, 1987 – January 3, 1989
Preceded byTommy Thompson
Succeeded byDavid Prosser Jr.
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 7, 1985 – January 12, 1990
Preceded bySpencer Coggs
Succeeded byAlberta Darling
Constituency10th District
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985
Preceded byWilliam J. Rogers
Succeeded byGary J. Schmidt
Constituency5th District
In office
July 24, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Preceded byRod Johnston
Succeeded bySpencer Coggs
Constituency10th District
Personal details
Born (1935-10-11) October 11, 1935
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children3
ResidenceShorewood, Wisconsin
EducationMassachusetts State College (BS)

Biography

Nelsen graduated from Dedham High School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in 1957. She is married with three children and resides in Shorewood, Wisconsin.[1]

Career

Nelsen was first elected to the Assembly as a Republican in a special election in July 1979. She was chosen by the Republican caucus as Minority Leader for the 1987-1988 session of the Assembly. Nelsen was re-elected five times, and remained a member of the Assembly until 1990, when she resigned to accept appointment to the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service in Washington, D.C.[2]

President George H. W. Bush appointed her as Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture in January 1990. She served in that role until the days after Bush's defeat in the 1992 presidential election, when she resigned and returned to the Milwaukee area. During 1992, President Bush had nominated her to become Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Food and Consumer Services as well as a member of the board of directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation, but her nomination did not receive a vote by the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and was returned without action when the Senate adjourned in October 1992.[3][4]

After returning to Wisconsin, she was appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to serve on the state Natural Resources Board.[5]

References
  1. "Nelsen, Betty Jo 1935". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  2. Beck, Joe (January 22, 1990). "Nelsen closes career chapter". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 7. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Nomination of Betty Jo Nelsen To Be an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture". White House Press Secretary (Press release). March 16, 1992. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via The American Presidency Project.
  4. "PN959 — Betty Jo Nelsen — Department of Agriculture". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  5. "DNR Appointees". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. May 8, 1993. p. 2. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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