Val Bjornson

Kristjan Valdimar "Val" Bjornson (August 29, 1906 – March 10, 1987) was a Minnesota writer, newspaper editor, and politician who served as State Treasurer for more than two decades.[1]

K. Valdimar Bjornson, known in politics as Val Bjornson, in his 20s.

Bjornson was born in Minneota, Minnesota of Icelandic descent.[2] In World War II, he served in Navy intelligence, stationed in Iceland.[3] Besides English, he was fluent in Icelandic, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian.[4]

He was part owner of the Minneota Mascot newspaper and an associate editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press.[5]

Running as the Republican candidate in the 1954 United States Senate elections, Bjornson lost to Hubert Humphrey, with whom he sometimes shared a car to travel around the state.[6]

Bjornson died in Minneapolis on March 10th, 1987.[7] The University of Minnesota, his alma mater, and the University of Iceland have a student exchange scholarship named in his honor.[8]