Rudy Boschwitz
Encyclopedia
Rudolph Ely "Rudy" Boschwitz (born November 7, 1930) is a former Independent-Republican
United States Senator from Minnesota
. He served in the Senate from December 1978 to January 1991, in the 96th
, 97th
, 98th
, 99th
, 100th
, and 101st congresses
. He was then defeated by Paul Wellstone
.
, where he grew up. A graduate of The Pennington School
, he attended Johns Hopkins University
, Baltimore, Maryland, graduated from the New York University Stern School of Business
in 1950, and the New York University School of Law
in 1953.
He was admitted to the New York State bar in 1954 and the Wisconsin
bar in 1959. He served in the United States Army
Signal Corps 1954–1955. He was the founder and chairman of a plywood
and Home Improvement retailer, Plywood Minnesota, which later became Home Valu Interiors.
Boschwitz was elected as an Independent-Republican to the United States Senate in November 1978 and was subsequently appointed on December 30, 1978, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Wendell Anderson
. Boschwitz is well known in Minnesota for operating a "Flavored Milk" booth at the Minnesota State Fair
.
After his defeat in 1990 by Wellstone, Boschwitz ran against Wellstone again in 1996 but failed to regain his seat.
In 1991 he traveled to Ethiopia
as the emissary of President George H. W. Bush
. The negotiations led by Boschwitz while in Ethiopia resulted in Operation Solomon
. That is, the Ethiopian Government released 14,325 Jewish people to Israel by a massive airlift. Operation Solomon took twice as many Beta Israel émigrés to Israel as Operation Moses
and Operation Joshua
combined.
He was a top "Bush Pioneer" in 2000, fund-raising $388,193, and a "Bush Ranger" in 2004, raising a minimum of $200,000 for George W. Bush
's campaign fund in that election cycle.
In 2005, President George W. Bush named Boschwitz as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which met at the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland.
He also supported John McCain
in the 2008 Presidential election. He appeared at a McCain Straight Talk Town Hall Meeting in Lakeville, MN on October 10, 2008.
He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
, is an AIPAC Board Member, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
.
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
United States Senator from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He served in the Senate from December 1978 to January 1991, in the 96th
96th United States Congress
The Ninety-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1979 to January 3, 1981, during the last two years...
, 97th
97th United States Congress
The Ninety-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1983, during the final weeks of...
, 98th
98th United States Congress
The Ninety-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1983 to January 3, 1985, during the third and...
, 99th
99th United States Congress
The Ninety-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1985 to January 3, 1987, during the fifth and sixth...
, 100th
100th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President: George H.W. Bush * President pro tempore: John Stennis - Majority leadership :* Majority Leader, Democratic Conference Chairman, and Democratic Policy Committee Chairman: Robert Byrd...
, and 101st congresses
101st United States Congress
The One Hundred First United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1989 to January 3, 1991, during the first two...
. He was then defeated by Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
.
Life and career
Boschwitz was born in Berlin, Germany, November 7, 1930. In 1933, when he was only three years old, his Jewish family fled from Nazi Germany to the United States, settling in New Rochelle, New YorkNew Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
, where he grew up. A graduate of The Pennington School
The Pennington School
The Pennington School is a selective, independent, coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades 6 through 12, located in Pennington, New Jersey, a small community midway between New York City and Philadelphia in the northeastern United States.As of the 2009-10 school year, the...
, he attended Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Baltimore, Maryland, graduated from the New York University Stern School of Business
New York University Stern School of Business
The Leonard N. Stern School of Business is New York University's business school. It was established in 1900 as the NYU School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. In 1988 it was named after Leonard N. Stern, an alumnus and benefactor of the school...
in 1950, and the New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
in 1953.
He was admitted to the New York State bar in 1954 and the Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
bar in 1959. He served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Signal Corps 1954–1955. He was the founder and chairman of a plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
and Home Improvement retailer, Plywood Minnesota, which later became Home Valu Interiors.
Boschwitz was elected as an Independent-Republican to the United States Senate in November 1978 and was subsequently appointed on December 30, 1978, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Wendell Anderson
Wendell Anderson
Wendell Richard "Wendy" Anderson is an American politician and was the 33rd Governor of Minnesota from January 4, 1971 to December 29, 1976. In late 1976, he resigned the governor's office in order to be named U.S. Senator to replace Walter Mondale, who had been elected Vice President of the...
. Boschwitz is well known in Minnesota for operating a "Flavored Milk" booth at the Minnesota State Fair
Minnesota State Fair
The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its slogan is "The Great Minnesota Get-Together." It is the 2nd largest fair in the United States, and the largest state fair in the United States in terms of average daily attendance, though the State Fair of Texas runs...
.
After his defeat in 1990 by Wellstone, Boschwitz ran against Wellstone again in 1996 but failed to regain his seat.
In 1991 he traveled to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
as the emissary of President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
. The negotiations led by Boschwitz while in Ethiopia resulted in Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel.In 1991, the sitting Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was close to being toppled with the recent military successes of Eritrean and Tigrean rebels, threatening Ethiopia with dangerous...
. That is, the Ethiopian Government released 14,325 Jewish people to Israel by a massive airlift. Operation Solomon took twice as many Beta Israel émigrés to Israel as Operation Moses
Operation Moses
Operation Moses refers to the covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan during a famine in 1984...
and Operation Joshua
Operation Joshua
Operation Joshua was the 1985 removal of 800 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel.George H. W. Bush, Vice-President of the United States at the time, arranged a CIA-sponsored follow-up mission to Operation Moses, which had brought 8000 people to Israel. Under Operation Joshua, an additional 800...
combined.
He was a top "Bush Pioneer" in 2000, fund-raising $388,193, and a "Bush Ranger" in 2004, raising a minimum of $200,000 for George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's campaign fund in that election cycle.
In 2005, President George W. Bush named Boschwitz as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which met at the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland.
He also supported John McCain
John McCain presidential campaign, 2008
John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
in the 2008 Presidential election. He appeared at a McCain Straight Talk Town Hall Meeting in Lakeville, MN on October 10, 2008.
He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit think-tank focusing on issues of United States and Israel in national security. JINSA's stated aim is threefold: to ensure a strong and effective U.S...
, is an AIPAC Board Member, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
Electoral history
- 1978 Race for U.S. Senate
- Rudy Boschwitz (R), 57%
- Wendell AndersonWendell AndersonWendell Richard "Wendy" Anderson is an American politician and was the 33rd Governor of Minnesota from January 4, 1971 to December 29, 1976. In late 1976, he resigned the governor's office in order to be named U.S. Senator to replace Walter Mondale, who had been elected Vice President of the...
(DFL) (inc.), 40%
- 1984 Race for U.S. Senate
- Rudy Boschwitz (R) (inc.), 58%
- Joan Anderson Growe (DFL), 41%
- 1990 Race for U.S. Senate
- Paul WellstonePaul WellstonePaul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
(DFL), 50% - Rudy Boschwitz (R) (inc.), 48%
- Paul Wellstone
- 1996 Race for U.S. Senate
- Paul WellstonePaul WellstonePaul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
(DFL) (inc.), 50% - Rudy Boschwitz (R), 41%
- Dean BarkleyDean BarkleyDean Malcolm Barkley is a politician who briefly served as a member of the United States Senate from Minnesota following the death of Paul Wellstone...
(Ref.), 7%
- Paul Wellstone