Richard Stanek
Richard W. Stanek is the 27th Sheriff of Hennepin County and is serving his second term in Minnesota’s largest county with 1.2 million residents.
A 30-year veteran of law enforcement, Sheriff Stanek began his career in the Minneapolis Police Department; he rose through the ranks from Patrol Officer, Detective, Commander of Criminal Investigations, to Precinct Commander. While a police officer, Sheriff Stanek was elected five times to the Minnesota State Legislature. In 2003, the Governor appointed him Commissioner of Public Safety & Director of Homeland Security for Minnesota.
Sheriff Stanek currently serves in leadership positions with several national organizations and on several national boards: National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) Executive Committee, chair of the NSA Homeland Security Committee, and vice-chair of the NSA Global Policing Affairs Committee. He serves on the Committee on Terrorism for the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is the Vice President of the LinCT Alumni Association Executive Team. Recently Sheriff Stanek was appointed to the FirstNet Board of Directors. He is the immediate past president of the Major County Sheriffs’ Association (MCSA).
He serves on both the Director of National Intelligence’s Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT) and Homeland Security/Law Enforcement Advisory Board. He is a member of the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC). CICC members advise the U.S. Attorney General on national and international issues of public safety and criminal justice.
Sheriff Stanek earned a Criminal Justice Degree from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Hamline University. He completed training at the National Sheriffs’ Institute, the FBI’s National Executive Institute and Leadership in Counter-Terrorism, and the U.S. Army War College, National Security Seminar, 57th Session.