Decision Maker

Paul Thissen

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice - Seat 4

District 4, Minnesota

Paul Thissen is an American jurist and politician currently serving as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. A prominent figure in Minnesota politics, Thissen previously held the roles of Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and DFL Minority Leader, becoming the longest-serving leader of the Minnesota House Democrats since Martin Olav Sabo in the 1970s. Representing District 61B in south Minneapolis, he was first elected in 2002 and was consistently reelected until 2016. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Thissen was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Mark Dayton on April 17, 2018, and sworn in on May 14, 2018, marking him as the first individual to have served both as Minnesota House Speaker and on the Minnesota Supreme Court. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a JD from the University of Chicago.