Roger Jepsen

Roger William Jepsen (December 23, 1928 – November 13, 2020) was an American politician from Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1969 to 1973 and a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1985. Jepsen later was the chairman of National Credit Union Administration from 1985 to 1993 where he helped oversee more than 14,000 credit unions nationally.

Early life
Jepsen was born on December 23, 1928, in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the son of Emil and Esther (Sorensen) Jepsen. His grandparents were all Danish immigrants. Jepsen attended public schools.

Education
Jepsen attended University of Northern Iowa. Jepsen graduated from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, in 1950 with a bachelor's degree and in 1953 with a master's degree. At ASU, Jepsen was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.

Career
Jepsen became a paratrooper in the United States Army 1946–1947 and served in the United States Army Reserve 1948–1960, where he achieved the rank of captain. He was active in farming, insurance and health care businesses.

Jepsen served as a county supervisor of Scott County from 1962 to 1965 and was a state Senator from 1966 to 1968. He was the 39th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1969 to 1973, having been elected with Governor Robert D. Ray in 1968.

In 1978, he was elected to the United States Senate, narrowly defeating incumbent Dick Clark in a major surprise, receiving strong support from National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC). During the campaign, Jepsen taunted Senator Clark as "the Senator from Africa" because of Clark's work on behalf of the people in South Africa against their apartheid government. He served a single term from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1985. He served as co-chairman of the Joint Economic Committee in the 98th Congress.

Fellow Republican colleagues praised Jepsen for persuading then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan to lift the agricultural ban against the Soviet Union.

Jepsen was defeated by Democratic Congressman Tom Harkin in the 1984 Senate election. Jepsen later served as chairman of the National Credit Union Administration.

During part of his tenure in the Senate, Jepsen sat at the Candy Desk.

Personal life and death
Jepsen married twice, first to Dorothy Ann Lambertson in 1948, they had four children. The marriage ended in divorce. He then married Dee Ann Delaney in 1958 and they had one son together.

Jepsen died on November 13, 2020, at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf, Iowa, at age 91. He was interred at Davenport Memorial Park in Davenport, Iowa.