Oil on canvas, Leslie Bowman, 2011, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

PETERSON, Collin Clark, a Representative from Minnesota; born in Fargo, Cass County, N.D., June 29, 1944; B.A., Moorhead State University, Moorhead, Minn., 1966; United States Army National Guard, 1963-1969; certified public accountant; member, Minnesota state senate, 1977-1986; unsuccessful candidate for election to the Ninety-ninth Congress in 1984 and to the One Hundredth Congress in 1986; unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for the United States House of Representatives in 1988; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Second and to the eleven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1991-present); chair, Committee on Agriculture (One Hundred Tenth and One Hundred Eleventh Congresses).