Quick Facts
Biography
Anna Dickie Olesen (July 3, 1885-May 21, 1971) was a Minnesota politician.
Biography
Born in Cordova Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota, Olesen was the first woman nominated by a major party (Republican or Democratic) to run for United States Senator. She was a member of the Democratic Party.
She was the first woman to serve on the Democratic National Committee (1917–24). In 1929, at the Democratic National Convention, she was mentioned as possible candidate for Vice President of the United States.
In the late 1930s, Olesen served on the Minnesota State Planning Board and the Minnesota Resources Committee and she was active with the General Federation of Women's Clubs, and the League of Women Voters, among other organizations. She was first married to Peter Olesen, superintendent of schools in Pine City, Minnesota and later Cloquet, Minnesota, prior to her advancement in politics; then to C.M. Burge.
She was cited by the New York Times as being for the "common people" and campaigned in a Ford sedan across Minnesota.
She died May 21, 1971 in Northfield, Minnesota.