Anderson was born in
Brainerd, Minnesota, in 1912 to Fred and Anna Anderson,
Swedish-speaking Finnish immigrants from Lappfors in
Esse, Finland. His father died when he was 14, forcing him to get a job with a magazine and newspaper company to help support the family. He attended
Brainerd High School and spent two quarters at the
University of Minnesota studying medicine before running out of tuition money and returning home to continue working. In 1938, he ran for
lieutenant governor of Minnesota with
Republican gubernatorial candidate
Harold Stassen and won. At 31 and 26 years old, respectively, Stassen and Anderson were the youngest governor and lieutenant governor in state history. Anderson was reelected lieutenant governor five more times under three different governors. He holds the record for the most total years served as the state's lieutenant governor. In September 1951, Anderson became governor when
Luther Youngdahl resigned to become a federal judge in Washington, D.C. He won election to a full term in 1952 but was defeated by
Orville Freeman two years later. After leaving the governor's office, he served as mayor of
Nisswa from 1961 to 1963 and as mayor of Brainerd from 1976 to 1986. He died in Brainerd in 1998. The C. Elmer Anderson Memorial Highway is named in his honor. ==References==