{{Short description|American businessman and politician}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Rick Mystrom | image = | caption = | office = 32nd Mayor of Anchorage | term_start = July 1, 1994 | term_end = July 1, 2000 | predecessor = Tom Fink | successor = George Wuerch | office2 = Member of the Anchorage Assembly<br />from Seat D | term_start2 = 1979 | term_end2 = 1985 | predecessor2 = Bill Besser | successor2 = Bill Faulkner | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1943}} | birth_place = Minnesota, U.S. | party = Republican | relations = | children = 3 | alma_mater = }} '''Richard Mystrom''' (born 1944) is an American politician, businessman, and author who served as the 32nd mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage from 1994 to 2000. He is a member of the Republican party.
==Early life and education== Mystrom was born in Minnesota in 1944 and attended the University of Colorado Boulder where he studied economics and political science. In 1964, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He moved to Alaska in 1972.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Viechnicki|first=Joe|date=2018-04-11|title=Former Anchorage mayor to speak on diabetes at Petersburg health fair|url=https://www.kfsk.org/2018/04/11/former-anchorage-mayor-to-speak-on-diabetes-at-petersburg-health-fair/|access-date=2021-03-22|website=KFSK|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Career == In 1975, Mystrom established Mystrom/Beck Advertising. In 1982, he received the Small Business Person of the Year Award from President Ronald Reagan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Remarks on Presenting the Small Business Person of the Year Award {{!}} The American Presidency Project|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-presenting-the-small-business-person-the-year-award-1|access-date=2021-03-22|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}}</ref> In 1990, he sold his advertising business, which was later merged into the Nerland Agency.
Mystrom was elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 1979, serving until 1985.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Documents/2021-0706%20Honor%20Roll-Assembly%20Members.pdf | title=Municipality of Anchorage - Assembly Member History | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916200428/https://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Documents/2021-0706%20Honor%20Roll-Assembly%20Members.pdf | archive-date=2021-09-16}}</ref> During the 1980s, Mystrom led the Anchorage Organizing Committee, which sought to bring the 1992 or 1994 Winter Olympic Games to the city.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Woodard|first=Dr Thad|date=2015-07-03|title=Former City Mayor Rick Mystrom & 50 Years of Experience Living With Type 1 Diabetes|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/07/03/former-city-mayor-rick-mystrom-50-years-of-experience-living-with-type-1-diabetes/|access-date=2021-03-22|website=Alaska Public Media|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2006-06-17|title=The Anchorage Press, in Anchorage Alaska - Anchorage's Most Widely Read Weekly Newspaper|url=http://www.anchoragepress.com/newarchives/drivemecrazy.html|access-date=2021-03-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617031950/http://www.anchoragepress.com/newarchives/drivemecrazy.html|archive-date=2006-06-17}}</ref>
In 1994, he defeated Democrat Mark Begich to succeed Tom Fink as mayor of Anchorage. In 1997, he withstood a challenge from Fink, a fellow Republican. Mystrom was widely considered the more moderate of the two Republican candidates.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} In office, Mystrom emphasized crime reduction and championed the "City of Lights" beautification program, encouraging residents and employers to ornament their homes and businesses with decorative lights during Anchorage's dark winter.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}
In the 2003 election, he challenged incumbent Republican mayor George Wuerch in a three-way race. Begich, who had unsuccessfully faced Wuerch in 2000, was elected.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}
==Personal life== He has two sons, Nick and Richard, and a daughter, Jennifer, with his former wife, Mary.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Alaska|Biography}} * {{Official website|http://rickmystrom.com}}
{{S-start}} {{Succession box | before=Tom Fink| title=Mayor of Anchorage| years=1994 – 2000| after=George Wuerch }} {{S-end}}
{{Mayors of Anchorage}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mystrom, Rick}} Category:1943 births Category:20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Category:Alaska Republicans Category:Anchorage Assembly members Category:Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Category:Businesspeople from Minnesota Category:American advertising executives Category:Date of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska