{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Bob Vanasek | image = File:Robert E. Vanasek.jpg | caption = | order = 52nd | office = Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives | term_start = June 25, 1987 | term_end = January 6, 1992 | predecessor = Fred Norton | successor = Dee Long | office2 = Minnesota State Representative from District 25A | term_start2 = January 1983 | term_end2 = January 1993 | predecessor2 = Douglas W. Carlson | successor2 = Kay Brown | office3 = Minnesota State Representative from District 24A | term_start3 = January 1973 | term_end3 = January 1983 | predecessor3 = Delbert F. Anderson | successor3 = Mark J. Piepho | birth_date = {{birth date and age |1949|4|2}} | birth_place = New Prague, Minnesota, U.S. | alma_mater = University of Minnesota<br>John F. Kennedy School of Government<br>William Mitchell College of Law | party = DFL | spouse = Mary Vanasek | children = 3 | profession = Public relations, lobbyist }}
'''Robert E. "Bob" Vanasek''' (born April 2, 1949) is a Minnesota politician and a former member and Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A Democrat, he was first elected to the House in 1972 at just 23 years of age, and was re-elected every two years from 1974 to 1990. He represented the old districts 24A and 25A, which included portions of Dakota, Le Sueur, Rice and Scott counties in the southeastern part of the state.<ref name="leg.state.mn.us">{{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=10680 |title=Minnesota Legislators Past & Present – Legislator Record – Vanasek, Robert E |publisher=Leg.state.mn.us |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref>
==Education background== Vanasek graduated from New Prague High School in New Prague, and received a B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota. He went on to receive his M.A. in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985 through a Bush Foundation Fellowship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bushfellows.org/fellows/show/4418 |title=Bush Foundation | Robert Vanasek |publisher=Bushfellows.org |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref> He also attended William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul.<ref name="leg.state.mn.us"/>
==Legislative and professional leadership== While in the legislature, Vanasek served as chair of the House Criminal Justice and Judiciary committees, the Rules and Legislative Administration Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee. He was an assistant majority leader from 1979 to 1985, and, briefly, majority leader in 1987.<ref name="leg.state.mn.us"/>
Vanasek became Speaker in 1987, after the resignation of Fred Norton, who was appointed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals by Governor Rudy Perpich. He served as Speaker until 1992, when he left the legislature to become executive director of the Minnesota High Technology Council, a private organization, until 1995.<ref name="leg.state.mn.us"/> He was vice president of public affairs at Metropolitan State University from 1995 to 1999.<ref name="shakopeenews.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/vanasek_be_installed_honorary_consul_czech_republic-7053 |title=Vanasek to be installed honorary consul of the Czech Republic | Shakopee Valley News |publisher=Shakopeenews.com |date=September 11, 2008 |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref>
Vanasek has run Robert Vanasek & Associates since 1999, and is currently a lobbyist for a variety of organizations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minnpost.com/robertwhereatt/ |title=Robert Whereatt |publisher=MinnPost |date=July 30, 2008 |accessdate=July 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713210218/http://www.minnpost.com/robertwhereatt/ |archive-date=July 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is also a member of the board of directors of Minnesota's Private Colleges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mnprivatecolleges.org/about_us/board.php |title=Minnesota's Private Colleges – Board of Directors |publisher=Mnprivatecolleges.org |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref>
==Honorary consul of the Czech Republic== Vanasek was installed as the new honorary consul of the Czech Republic for the four-state area of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota on September 19, 2009, by Czech Ambassador Petr Kolar. The Czech Republic maintains 14 consulates in the United States, and 166 worldwide. The Czech honorary consulate joins some 30 other such honorary and official consulates with jurisdiction in the state of Minnesota.<ref name="shakopeenews.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mzv.cz/chicago/en/news/new_honorary_consul_in_minneapolis.html |title=New Honorary Consul in Minneapolis | Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago |publisher=Mzv.cz |accessdate=July 20, 2010}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{MN-legdb|10680}} *[http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/vanasek_be_installed_honorary_consul_czech_republic-7053 "Vanasek installed as honorary consul of the Czech Republic" 9/11/2008]
{{S-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title=Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives | before=Fred Norton | after=Dee Long | years=1987–1992}} {{succession box |title=State Representative from Minnesota District 25A |before= Douglas W. Carlson|after= Kay Brown |years=1983–1993}} {{succession box |title=State Representative from Minnesota District 24A |before= Delbert F. Anderson|after= Mark J. Piepho |years=1973–1983}} {{S-end}}
{{MNSpeakers}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2011}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanasek, Robert}} Category:Living people Category:1943 births Category:Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:American people of Czech descent Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni Category:University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Category:William Mitchell College of Law alumni Category:People from New Prague, Minnesota Category:20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature