Mary Pawlenty

Mary Elizabeth Anderson Pawlenty (born January 13, 1961) is a former American state court judge who served on Minnesota's First Judicial District from 1994 to 2007. The wife of Governor Tim Pawlenty, she was First Lady of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. She previously worked as a private-practice attorney and in 2009 became director at a medical nonprofit. She has been a mediator with Gilbert Mediation since 2007. Early life and education Mary Anderson was raised in Edina, Minnesota. In 1979, she graduated from Edina-East High School. In 1983, she graduated from Bethel University, earning a bachelor's degree in political science, summa cum laude. She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School—where she met Tim Pawlenty—in 1986. Legal career Following graduation, Anderson practiced law in Houston, Texas for one year. She then returned to Minnesota to marry Tim Pawlenty. They settled in Eagan, Minnesota. In 1994, Mary was appointed as a Judge of the District Court of Minnesota for Dakota County in Hastings, Minnesota by Governor Arne Carlson. She and her husband began raising their two daughters, Anna (born 1993) and Mara.