Allen I. Olson
Allen Olson in 1981
28th Governor of North Dakota
In office January 6, 1981 – January 1, 1985
Lieutenant	Ernest Sands
Preceded by	Art Link
Succeeded by	George Sinner
25th Attorney General of North Dakota
In office 1973–1980
Governor	Art Link
Preceded by	Helgi Johanneson
Succeeded by	Robert Wefald
Personal details
Born	Allen Ingvar Olson (1938-11-05) November 5, 1938 (age 85) Rolla, North Dakota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Barbara Benner Olson
Children	3
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1963-1967
Unit	Judge Advocate General's Corps

Allen Ingvar Olson (born November 5, 1938) is an American Republican politician and attorney who served as the 28th governor of North Dakota from 1981 to 1985. He defeated incumbent Art Link in the 1980 election and served one term.^[1]

Education, military service and legal career

Olson was born on November 5, 1938, in the small town of Rolla, North Dakota. He received a law degree from the University of North Dakota where he joined Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and served in the United States Army as a judge advocate general's corps lawyer. In 1967 he served as Chief of Military Justice in Munich, West Germany. From 1967 to 1969 he served as the assistant director of the Legislative Research Committee, which directed the state's first study of strip mining, soil banks and land reclamation. He entered the private practice of law in 1969 with the law firm of Conmy, Rosenberg, Lucas and Olson. He ran for attorney general in 1972 and served two terms in that position.

Years as governor

In 1980, Olson sought the governor's office and defeated incumbent Governor Art Link. His achievements during his term include the creation of the Department of Human Services and the conversion of the Cross-Ranch into a state park. He also worked with the Task Force on Drunk Driving and supported the Garrison Diversion program. A controversial lawsuit against the state by the Association of Retarded Citizens was also filed during his years as governor. He ran for reelection in 1984 but was defeated by Democrat George A. Sinner.

Later professional career

After losing the election and leaving office, he returned to private law practice in Bismarck for a year before leaving for Minneapolis to join the law firm of Fredrikson and Byron. In 1987, he left the firm to become co-owner of a die-casting company based in New Hope, Minnesota. He also ran a community bank association for many years. He serves as a commissioner of the International Joint Commission of Canada and the United States, having been appointed to the position by President George W. Bush in 2002.^[2]

On October 4, 2010, Olson announced that he was backing Independence Party candidate Tom Horner in the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial election.^[3]