Kaare Maurice Johannessen (born July 16, 1934) is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party.

Johannessen made his living in real estate before being elected to the Redding City Council, where he served as Mayor from 1988 until 1989.

[1] He ran for the California State Senate in a 1993 special election for the 4th district left vacant when Democratic incumbent Mike Thompson won election to the neighboring 2nd district (where his home wound up after redistricting).

[2] Johannessen defeated former 7th district Assemblywoman Bev Hansen in the August GOP primary by a comfortable margin and went on to win reelection in 1994 and 1998.

Upon leaving the State Senate in 2002, Johannessen was appointed by Democratic Governor Gray Davis as Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, a post he held until 2003.