{{Short description|American politician (1930–2019)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Joseph Begich | image = Joe Begich (D-MN).jpg | caption = Official portrait, 1977 | office = Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives | term_start = January 6, 1975 | term_end = January 6, 1993 | state_senate2 = | term2 = | district2 = | birth_name = Joseph Richard Begich | birth_date = {{birth date|1930|1|17}} | birth_place = Eveleth, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|8|10|1930|1|17}} | death_place = Eveleth, Minnesota, U.S. | party = Democratic (DFL) | occupation = management, mining, farming | children = | relations = Nick Begich Sr. (brother)<br>Mark Begich (nephew) <br> Nick Begich III (great-nephew) | alma_mater = }} '''Joseph Richard Begich''' (January 17, 1930 – August 10, 2019) was an American politician in the state of Minnesota. He was born in Eveleth, Minnesota. He was an alumnus of the Northwest School of Agriculture and was a grain and livestock farmer. Begich served in the United States Army. He served as mayor of Eveleth, Minnesota, from 1965 to 1974, when he was elected to the Minnesota Legislature. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for District 6A from 1975 to 1982 and for District 6B from 1983 to 1992.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?ID=10037|title=Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Begich|publisher=|accessdate=24 December 2014|archive-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912185428/http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?ID=10037|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/former-state-representative-joe-begich-a-spirited-iron-range-defender-dies/534868882/|title=Former state Rep. Joe Begich, a spirited Iron Range defender, dies|website=Star Tribune|date=August 11, 2019 |access-date=2021-08-04|archive-date=2021-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613074144/https://www.startribune.com/former-state-representative-joe-begich-a-spirited-iron-range-defender-dies/534868882/|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also a member of the Eveleth Hospital Board. Begich died at a nursing home in Eveleth in 2019 at the age of 89.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joe R. Begich |url=https://www.mesabitribune.com/obituaries/joe-r-begich/article_df0d87c4-be2c-11e9-9ba1-9b0276ce4907.html |website=Mesabi Tribune}}</ref>
== Family == {{See also|Begich family}} Begich was married to Carolyn and had one daughter. He was the brother of United States Congressman from Alaska Nick Begich, who disappeared and was presumed dead in 1972 while riding a plane, the uncle of former United States Senator from Alaska Mark Begich, and the great-uncle of the current United States Congressman from Alaska Nick Begich III.
== Honours ==
* A section of Minnesota State Highway 101 was renamed the "Representative Joe Begich Highway" in 2017.<ref name=":0" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begich, Joseph}} Category:1930 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Mayors of places in Minnesota Category:Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:People from Eveleth, Minnesota Category:Farmers from Minnesota Category:Military personnel from Minnesota Joseph Category:20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature Category:University of Minnesota Crookston alumni
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