This is a list of North Dakota superintendents of public instruction. The office was on a party-affiliated ballot until the year 1913, since then it has been on the no party ballot, although most superintendents have had some association with one party or another. The superintendent served a two-year term office until 1964. Since then, they have been elected to four-year terms.
# Name Term Party1 William Mitchell 1889–1890 Republican2 William J. Clapp 1890 Republican3 John Ogden 1891–1892 Republican4 Laura J. Eisenhuth 1893–1894 Democratic-Independent5 Emma F. Bates 1895–1896 Republican6 John G. Halland 1897–1900 Republican7 Joseph M. Devine 1901–1902 Republican8 Walter L. Stockwell 1903–1910 Republican9 Edwin J. Taylor 1911–1916 Republican10 Neil C. Macdonald 1917–1918 Nonpartisan (Republican/NPL)11 Minnie J. Nielson 1919–1926 Nonpartisan (Republican/IVA)12 Bertha R. Palmer 1927–1932 Nonpartisan13 Arthur E. Thompson 1933–1946 Nonpartisan14 Garfield B. Nordrum 1946–1951 Nonpartisan15 Marvell F. Peterson 1951–1976 Nonpartisan16 Howard Snortland 1977–1980 Nonpartisan17 Joseph Crawford 1981–1984 Nonpartisan18 Wayne G. Sanstead 1985–2013 Nonpartisan (Democratic-NPL)19 Kirsten Baesler 2013–2025 Nonpartisan (Republican)20 Levi Bachmeier 2025– Nonpartisan (Republican)
See also North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction
External links North Dakota Department of Public Instruction website