Nielson first served in political office as a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 1967 to 1974, serving as Speaker of the House in his last term. He was an associate commissioner on the Utah Commission for Higher Education for two years. He was a delegate to the Utah State Republican Conventions from 1960 to 1982.[2]
He was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Utah and served four terms, from January 3, 1983, to January 3, 1991. While in Congress, Nielson sponsored two resolutions calling on Israel to reopen Palestinian schools and colleges.[3] In 1985 he was one of just two "nay" voters on a resolution urging Taiwan to extradite gangster Chen Chi-li, who had murdered dissident journalist Henry Liu in San Francisco the previous year.[4][5] He also cosponsored a bill to limit tobacco advertising.[6] He also was a leading proponent of releasing the names of people who tested positive for AIDS to Public Health Officials.[7] Nielson was also one of the main negotiators of the 1990 Clean Air Act.[8] Nielson was an early promoter of rating of song lyrics.[9]
In 1996, Nielson was elected to the Utah State Senate.[10] He retired from Congress so he could serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with his wife. They served as missionaries in both Australia and Hungary.[11]
Personal life
Nielson and his wife Julia had seven children, three sons and four daughters.[12]
Nielson's first wife died in 2003. He later married Donna Esther Brown, herself a widow and the sister of one of his former House colleagues, Ron Packard of California.[10] Donna died in 2015 of bone marrow cancer.[13] Howard Nielson died on May 20, 2020, at the age of 95.[citation needed]
