Jim Ramstad

In 2020, Ramstad died from Parkinson's disease at the age of 74.

He died of Parkinson's disease on November 5, 2020, aged 74, at his home in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Ramstad considered running for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 election, but decided not to.

He was considered to be the most moderate Republican member of the Minnesota delegation in the 109th Congress, scoring 68 percent conservative by a conservative group and 21% progressive by a liberal group.

In 2010, Ramstad joined alliantgroup as a Senior Advisor on their Strategic Advisory Board.

Ramstad considered ending discrimination against those suffering from mental health and addiction problems a major part of his legacy. He worked under both Republican and Democratic majorities to pass a Mental Health Parity Bill. Mental Health Parity was eventually passed and signed into law in December, 2008.

On February 25, 2008, it was announced that Ramstad had been elected to the board of directors of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Ramstad was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 until 2009, representing Minnesota's 3rd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. On September 17, 2007 Ramstad announced he would not seek reelection in 2008. He reiterated his statement on December 19, 2007.

Ramstad was a Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1981 to 1990 before entering the U.S. Congress. He served in the 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, and 110th congresses, beginning on January 3, 1991. He first defeated former Minneapolis city councilman Lou DeMars in the 1990 election.

Ramstad was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1981 and was reelected until 1990, when he was elected to represent Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ramstad won reelection in the suburban congressional district eight times, all by landslide margins. He had a reputation as a moderate Republican. Ramstad chose to retire and not seek reelection in 2008. He was succeeded by Republican State Representative Erik Paulsen. Throughout his legislative career and later life, Ramstad, empowered by his prior struggles with alcoholism, was a notable advocate for addiction recovery.

He served on the Wayzata-Plymouth Chemical Health Commission, Plymouth Human Rights Commission, and the Minnesota State Human Rights Advisory Committee from 1979 to 1980.

James Marvin Ramstad (May 6, 1946 – November 5, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Ramstad served in the Minnesota Senate from 1981 to 1991.

Ramstad was born in Jamestown, North Dakota on May 6, 1946. He was educated at the University of Minnesota and the George Washington University Law School. He was an officer in the United States Army Reserve from 1968 to 1974. He also worked as a private practice attorney and as a legislative aide to the Minnesota House of Representatives.