Oil on canvas, Leslie W. Bowman, 2008, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

OBERSTAR, James Louis, a Representative from Minnesota; born in Chisholm, St. Louis County, Minn., September 10, 1934; graduated from Chisholm High School, Chisholm, Minn., 1952; B.A., College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn., 1956; M.A., College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium, 1957; staff for United States Representative John Anton Blatnik of Minnesota, 1963-1974; administrator of the Committee on Public Works, United States House of Representatives, 1971-1974; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-fourth and to the seventeen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1975-January 3, 2011); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Twelfth Congress in 2010; chair, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (One Hundred Tenth and One Hundred Eleventh Congresses).