Ed Schafer Bio
Edward Thomas Schafer (born 8 August 1946) is an American businessman and politician best known for serving as the 30th Governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000 and as the 29th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2008 to 2009. A native of Bismarck and the son of businessman Harold Schafer and Marian Nelsen, he led his family’s Gold Seal Company before entering public life. He later co-founded Extend America and, in 2016, served briefly as interim president of the University of North Dakota. He is a member of the Republican Party and has spent most of his career at the intersection of business and public service in North Dakota and the wider United States.
Early Life and Background
Ed Schafer was born and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota. He is the son of Harold Schafer, a prominent North Dakota businessman, and Marian Nelsen, and he is of German descent. He grew up with one sister, Pamela, known as Pam. His father’s manufacturing business gave him early exposure to private enterprise, and Bismarck’s community life helped shape his Midwestern roots.
Schafer attended the University of North Dakota, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1969. He became a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity during his undergraduate years. He then went on to earn a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Denver in 1970, providing the formal business training that supported his later career in industry and government.
Path to US Politics
After college, Schafer joined his father’s firm, the Gold Seal Company, a North Dakota-based manufacturer founded in 1942. He worked in several divisions before serving as company president from 1978 to 1985. At its peak, Gold Seal generated more than $50 million in annual revenues and was one of the state’s largest privately held firms, distributing well-known products such as Mr. Bubble bubble bath, Glass Wax glass cleaner, and Snowy Bleach.
Following his time at Gold Seal, Schafer moved into broader civic and business leadership in North Dakota. In 1990, he challenged incumbent U.S. Congressman Byron Dorgan, capturing 35 percent of the vote, a loss that set the stage for his next campaign. In 1992, he ran for governor and won, beginning an eight-year tenure that would define his political career.
Ed Schafer Career
Early Career (1969–1991)
Ed Schafer began his professional life at the Gold Seal Company, the family business founded by his father Harold Schafer in 1942. He rose through several divisions of the company and was named president in 1978, a position he held until 1985. Under his leadership, Gold Seal became one of North Dakota’s largest privately held firms, distributing nationally recognized household brands.
After leaving the company presidency, Schafer remained active in North Dakota’s business and civic life. His unsuccessful 1990 congressional run against Democrat Byron Dorgan gave him statewide name recognition. The experience helped him build the political network he would draw on two years later when he entered the governor’s race.
Governor of North Dakota (1992–2000)
In 1992, Ed Schafer won the North Dakota governorship as the Republican nominee, defeating former North Dakota Attorney General Nicholas Spaeth and running mate Julie Hill. Together with Republican lieutenant governor nominee Rosemarie Myrdal, Schafer captured nearly 58 percent of the vote. He was reelected in 1996 with about two-thirds of the vote against Democratic nominee Lee Kaldor.
As governor, Schafer managed annual state budgets exceeding $4.5 billion and a state employee workforce of more than 12,000. He prioritized economic diversification, working with the private sector to expand value-added agricultural products such as corn sweeteners and pasta. He also helped strengthen North Dakota’s trade relationship with China, which grew into a primary export market for the state’s products and services during the 1990s.
Schafer invested in rural communications infrastructure, working with government and business leaders to expand high-speed voice and data networks to farmers, ranchers, and rural households. In 1995, he served as Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association, and in 1999–2000 he chaired the Republican Governors Association. He did not seek reelection in 2000.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (2008–2009)
In October 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Schafer to serve as the 29th United States Secretary of Agriculture. After a confirmation hearing on January 24, 2008, the Senate unanimously confirmed him on January 28, 2008. He attended that evening’s State of the Union Address as a member of the President’s cabinet.
Within his first two days in office, the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company scandal erupted, leading to the largest meat recall in United States history at 143 million pounds. Schafer testified before a Senate subcommittee on February 28, 2008, and later reversed course, supporting a complete ban on the slaughter of downer cattle. The U.S. government ultimately won a $497 million judgment against Hallmark/Westland for fraud and animal cruelty, the largest such judgment in federal court history, though much of it went uncollected after the company’s bankruptcy. Schafer left office at the end of the Bush administration in January 2009.
Notable Events and Milestones
Beyond politics, Schafer appeared on the Discovery Channel’s engineering game show Junkyard Wars during its fifth season in 2003, captaining the High Flyers team to a second-place finish. He also helped arrange the U.S. Forest Service’s May 2007 purchase of the 5,200-acre Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota, preserving the historic site once used by President Theodore Roosevelt. From January to July 2016, he served as interim president of the University of North Dakota, where he oversaw the final stages of the Fighting Sioux naming transition and helped unveil the Fighting Hawks logo in June 2016.
Ed Schafer Family
Family Background and Public Service Lineage
Ed Schafer is the son of businessman Harold Schafer, who founded the Gold Seal Company in 1942, and Marian Nelsen. He has one sister, Pamela Schafer, who was the first wife of former Democratic-NPL U.S. Senator Kent Conrad. The Schafer family has long been associated with North Dakota’s business and civic life, and Ed’s path from running a household-name manufacturing firm to statewide office reflects that heritage.
Personal Life
Ed Schafer is married to Nancy Jones. Together they have two children: Thomas, known as Tom, and Ellie. Schafer also has two stepchildren from his wife’s side, Eric Jones and Kari, who goes by Hammer. The family has maintained ties to North Dakota, the state where Schafer was born, raised his family, and built much of his career in business and government.