Rudy Boschwitz

Rudy Boschwitz, born in 1930 in Berlin, Germany, first became known to the public for his attention-grabbing appearances in television commercials that promoted his home improvement retail business, Plywood Minnesota. In 1978 he ran successfully for the U.S. Senate and served for 16 years. There he was appointed chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern Affairs and chair of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee. In 2005 Boschwitz was named American ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Updated 2014