Raised on his family’s dairy farm in Eden Prairie, Paul Holden Anderson (‘61) is a proud descendant of one of Eden Prairie’s earliest settler families (the namesakes of Anderson Lakes). As a student in Eden Prairie, Anderson excelled. A versatile athlete, he was among the city’s first football players, earned All-Conference honors in basketball and competed in track. He graduated as the salutatorian of the Eden Prairie High School Class of 1961. And eventually, he would go on to become a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice.

In 1965, Anderson graduated cum laude with departmental honors in political science from Macalester College. He then earned his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1968. His legal career began with a formative year as a VISTA volunteer attorney, along with t several years as Special Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Public Safety’s Criminal and Motor Vehicle Division. He joined the law firm LeVander, Gillen & Miller in 1971, becoming partner in 1975 and serving until his judicial appointment in 1992.

Deeply committed to public service, Anderson served on the South St. Paul School Board from 1983-1986, chairing the board for two of those years. He also chaired the Minnesota Judicial Selections Commission from 1991 to 1992. In 1992, Governor Arne Carlson appointed him Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, a role Anderson held until 1994, when he was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court. He served with distinction until his retirement in 2013.

Throughout his career, Anderson promoted civic education and the rule of law both locally and internationally. He has lectured on legal and electoral systems in countries including El Salvador, China, the Philippines, Russia, Libya and Tunisia.

Anderson is also proud of his family’s deep roots in Eden Prairie Schools: His mother, Helena, was a longtime teacher; his father, Calvin, served on the School Board; and his daughter, Isa (Yovanna) Anderson, was taught at Eden Lake Elementary.