This is a list of majority leaders of the Minnesota Senate. The majority leader is the head of the majority party in the Minnesota Senate, and is the most powerful political figure in the body.
List No.Image Name Took office Left office Party/caucus 1 Charles N. Orr 1933 1949 Conservative 2 Archie H. Miller 1949 1959 Conservative 3 John M. Zwach 1959 1967 Conservative 4 Stanley W. Holmquist 1967 1973 Conservative 5 Nick Coleman 1973 1981 Democratic-Farmer-Labor 6 Roger Moe 1981 2003 Democratic-Farmer-Labor 7 John Hottinger 2003 2004 Democratic-Farmer-Labor 8 Dean Johnson 2004 2007 Democratic-Farmer-Labor 9 Larry Pogemiller 2007 2011 Democratic-Farmer-Labor 10 Amy Koch 2011 2011 Republican 11 Dave Senjem 2011 2013 Republican 12 Tom Bakk 2013 2017 Democratic-Farmer-Labor 13 Paul Gazelka 2017 2021 Republican 14 Mark Johnson (acting) 2021 2021 Republican 15 Jeremy Miller 2021 2023 Republican 16 Kari Dziedzic 2023 2024 Democratic-Farmer-Labor 17 Erin Murphy 2024 incumbent Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Notes Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party: On April 15, 1944 the state Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged and created the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Republican Party of Minnesota: From November 15, 1975 to September 23, 1995 the name of the state Republican party was the Independent-Republican party (I-R). The party has always been affiliated with the national Republican Party.
In 1913, Minnesota legislators began to be elected on nonpartisan ballots. Nonpartisanship also was an historical accident that occurred in the 1913 session when a bill to provide for no party elections of judges and city and county officers was amended to include the Legislature in the belief that it would kill the bill. Legislators ran and caucused as "Liberals" or "Conservatives" roughly equivalent in most years to Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican, respectively. The law was changed in 1973, in 1976, Senate members again ran with party designation.