The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1954, Side 47

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
45
PERSONALITIES IN THE NEWS
NELS JOHNSON APPOINTED
TO N. DAK. SUPREME COURT
Nels Johnson
Nels A. Johnson, a lawyer practising
in Bismarck, N. Dak. and former At-
torney General of the State of N. Dak.,
has been appointed a judge of the
Supreme Court of North Dakota, ef-
fective April 5, 1954. He was appoint-
ed by Governor Norman Brunsclale
to succeed Judge A. M. Christianson
who died in February last. In a poll
of members of the North Dakota Bat
Association three nominees were given
a preferance and the Governor selected
Mr. Johnson, one of the three.
Upon acceptance Nels Johnson
stated that he would be a candidate
for the Supreme Court on the no-party
ballot in the June primary election.
If nominated in the primary and suc-
cessful in the November general elec-
tion he will complete Judge Christian-
son’s term, which expires at the end of
1958.
This new judge is a brother of Mrs.
V. J. Eylands of Winnipeg. He is no
stranger to the Icelandic community
in Winnipeg. In 1946, when he was
Attorney General in North Dakota, he
was the speaker at the annual concert
held under the auspices of the Iceland-
ic Canadian Club. The title of his ad-
dress was “Small Nations in Our
Modern World”, a timely subject and
well thought out by the former At-
torney General.
Nels Johnson was born in Akranes,
Iceland in 1896 and came to the
United States with his parents when
he was four years old. He is a graduate
in Arts and Law from the University
of North Dakota and was State at-
torney for McHenry County for nine
years. He was elected Attorney Gen-
eral in 1944 and served in that office
for four years.
In 1931 Nels Johnson married Ruth
Margery ITallenbeck at Grand Forks.
They have two children, a son George
M., a freshman in the University of
North Dakota and Margot, at home,
attending Bismarck High School.
The Icelandic Canadian extends
congratulations to Associate Justice
Johnson of the Supreme Court of N.
Dakota. Its readers and in fact all
people of Icelandic descent in the
United States and Canada will watch
the June primaries and the general
election next fall with much more
than usual interest. Tradition has it
that Superior Court judges in the U.S.
are usually re-elected. Judge Johnson’s
record is such that one can feel assured
that tradition will not be broken this
time. —W.J.L.