It’s now official — North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread stands head and shoulders above other politicians around the world.
Guinness World Records has named Godfread the World’s Tallest Politician, coming in at 6 feet, 10 inches tall, as verified on October 4, 2019.
And, for all the height involved, Godfread beat out the previous titleholder by just one centimeter.
The towering Insurance Commissioner took the news in stride.
“This was a fun opportunity to bring some good news back to North Dakota, and of course, it’s an honor to be recognized as a world record holder,” Godfread said. “This is also a great opportunity to highlight the work we do at the North Dakota Insurance Department and remind consumers that we are a consumer protection agency serving the people of North Dakota.”
Godfread visited his family physician’s office to be measured on three separate occasions throughout the day on October 4. He was required to be measured in the morning, around noon and in the evening. Each time, Godfread was measured both standing and lying down. The process was documented with video and photographs, per the requirements of Guinness World Records.
The record for World’s Tallest Politician (male) was previously held by Brooklyn, New York, city councilman Robert Cornegy Jr. He also stands 6 feet, 10 inches. But when both men were measured in centimeters to account for minuscule differences in height, Godfread came in at 210.7 centimeters while Cornegy, Jr. topped out at 209.6 centimeters.
Football may be a game of inches, but when it comes to tall political leaders, it’s a game of centimeters.
Interestingly, both men played college basketball and both played on teams that went to the NCAA Tournament.
