Melissa Hortman ( May 27, 1970 – June 14, 2025 ) was a prominent Minnesota Democrat, attorney, and long-term state legislator who had a significant influence on state politics and progressive policymaking. She served as DFL Leader during a unique power-sharing treatment in the state Senate in 2025 and as the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2025. A gunman posing as a law enforcement officer shot and killed Melissa Hortman and her father on June 14 in a politically motivated strike at their home. In a related attack that day, state legislator John Hoffman and his wife were even hurt. In response to the event, a nationwide manhunt was launched and there was a resumption of the threat to public officials in the midst of rising political tensions. Hortman was born in Fridley, Minnesota, and was raised in Anoka County. He received his education at Blaine High School in 1988. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy, the gran poop expression, from Boston University in 1991, followed by a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1995. She received a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 2018, depending on her commitment to public company and management. She was a consistent member of District 34B when she was elected to the House in 2004, and she constantly represented her components in places like Brooklyn Park and Champlin. She gained notoriety for her leadership in the fields of transportation, environmental protection, clean energy, and knowledge, most recently by chairing the Energy Policy Committee and assisting in the passage of Minnesota’s renewable power requirements and community solar rules. Hortman worked as a lawyer and served on a number of regional charges, including the Brooklyn Park Human Relations Commission. She also worked as an assistant state attorney in Hennepin County and clerked for Judge John Sommerville. She and her father, Mark, and they had two kids, Colin and Sophie, who reside in Brooklyn Park.
