MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau received a very high honor this week. On Thursday, Harteau was named in Fortune Magazine’s “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.” The magazine, which has released the list for the past four years, doesn’t pit leaders against one another, but ranks them against others in their chosen field. According to Fortune’s into, they seek to “bring followers together,” “acknowledge reality and offer hope,” and “build bridges.”
Checking in at 22, just one under Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, the piece commends Harteau for her strong leadership in the wake of different challenges.
“Over the past 18 months, Harteau has endured the kinds of challenges that every chief dreads. Growing tension with the police union. A spike in overall crime rates. And most challenging of all: the fatal shooting by police of an African-American man, Jamar Clark, under dubious circumstances that prompted an 18-day protest organized by Black Lives Matter.
Harteau weathered these woes with the steadiness that has made her a leadership role model. A 30-year veteran and the city’s first female and first gay police chief, Harteau is the mind behind MPD 2.0, a drive to build trust in the community by putting more cops on the beat. Civic leaders credit her for dismissing cops for misconduct. The officers involved in the Clark shooting were not indicted, but local prosecutors are rethinking the use of secret grand juries in police-involved killings—a victory for the transparency that both Harteau and protesters favor. And Minneapolis was one of the few major U.S. cities to report a significant decline in homicides in 2016.”
Harteau surpasses former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, CEO of Tesla Elon Musk, and Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London on the list.
Harteau became Minneapolis’ 52nd Chief of Police in 2012 after being nominated by former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. After joining the Minneapolis Police Department in 1987, she quickly worked her way up the chain of command before becoming the first female and first gay Chief of Police.
In a release by Minneapolis Police, Harteau says, “It is an honor, and frankly hard to believe, that my name was placed on a list with so many people who have done such important work. It is truly rewarding to see the Minneapolis Police Department recognized for our efforts. This honor really belongs to every member of the MPD team; they have embraced MPD 2.0 alongside many of our community leaders, which has allowed us to help lead the national discussion on 21st Century and community policing.”
While U.S. President Donald Trump didn’t make the cut, Republican Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich found spots on the list.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
