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Jim Oberstar
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Jim Oberstar
James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician and Congressman who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. Hailing from Minnesota and a member of the state's local Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented the northeastern eighth congressional district, which included the cities of Duluth, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, International Falls, and Hibbing, within an area of Minnesota known as the Iron Range. He chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2007 until his departure, having been the ranking minority member since 1995. In November 2010, he was defeated by a margin of 4,407 votes by Republican Chip Cravaack. He had the longest tenure of any Congressman from Minnesota.
Oberstar was born in Chisholm, Minnesota, and on his deathbed, he still owned his original family home in Chisholm. His father Louis, of German ancestry, was an iron ore miner and the first card-carrying member of the United Steelworkers (USW) on the Iron Range of Minnesota. Oberstar also has Slovenian ancestry.
Oberstar graduated from Chisholm High School in 1952 and went on to the College of St. Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas) in St. Paul, Minnesota where he received his B.A. degree in 1956. He received a master's degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium in 1957, with further study at Université Laval in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
He spent four years as a civilian language teacher in the United States Marine Corps, teaching English to Haitian military personnel and French to American Marine officers and noncommissioned officers.
He served on the staff of Minnesota's 8th District U.S. Representative John Blatnik for 12 years, from 1963 to 1974, rising to chief of staff. He was also the administrator of the Committee on Public Works for the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1974.
Oberstar was an internationally recognized expert on aviation and aviation safety. He served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during his entire time in the House. (His predecessor Blatnik had chaired the committee, then known as the Public Works Committee, during his last two terms in Congress, with Oberstar as staff administrator.) He was also a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism.
In 1965, Oberstar helped create the Economic Development Administration, the only federal agency devoted to the creation and retention of jobs in economically distressed American communities.
Oberstar was a strong supporter of the Duluth-based aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft and even helped bring the company to Minnesota in 1994 from its first home in Baraboo, Wisconsin. That same year, he assisted in passing the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which was said to have reinvigorated the general aviation industry nationwide.
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Jim Oberstar
James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician and Congressman who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. Hailing from Minnesota and a member of the state's local Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented the northeastern eighth congressional district, which included the cities of Duluth, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, International Falls, and Hibbing, within an area of Minnesota known as the Iron Range. He chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2007 until his departure, having been the ranking minority member since 1995. In November 2010, he was defeated by a margin of 4,407 votes by Republican Chip Cravaack. He had the longest tenure of any Congressman from Minnesota.
Oberstar was born in Chisholm, Minnesota, and on his deathbed, he still owned his original family home in Chisholm. His father Louis, of German ancestry, was an iron ore miner and the first card-carrying member of the United Steelworkers (USW) on the Iron Range of Minnesota. Oberstar also has Slovenian ancestry.
Oberstar graduated from Chisholm High School in 1952 and went on to the College of St. Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas) in St. Paul, Minnesota where he received his B.A. degree in 1956. He received a master's degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium in 1957, with further study at Université Laval in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
He spent four years as a civilian language teacher in the United States Marine Corps, teaching English to Haitian military personnel and French to American Marine officers and noncommissioned officers.
He served on the staff of Minnesota's 8th District U.S. Representative John Blatnik for 12 years, from 1963 to 1974, rising to chief of staff. He was also the administrator of the Committee on Public Works for the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1974.
Oberstar was an internationally recognized expert on aviation and aviation safety. He served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during his entire time in the House. (His predecessor Blatnik had chaired the committee, then known as the Public Works Committee, during his last two terms in Congress, with Oberstar as staff administrator.) He was also a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism.
In 1965, Oberstar helped create the Economic Development Administration, the only federal agency devoted to the creation and retention of jobs in economically distressed American communities.
Oberstar was a strong supporter of the Duluth-based aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft and even helped bring the company to Minnesota in 1994 from its first home in Baraboo, Wisconsin. That same year, he assisted in passing the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which was said to have reinvigorated the general aviation industry nationwide.
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