<PAGE>

                                                                Exhibit 31.1

                                CERTIFICATION
                                -------------

I, Mark E. Schwarzmann, certify that:

1.   I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of American
     Enterprise Life Insurance Company;

2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
     statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
     to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which
     such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
     covered by this report;

3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
     information included in this report, fairly present in all material
     respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
     of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.   The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
     establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
     defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
     registrant and have:

     (a)  Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
          disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
          supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
          registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
          to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
          period in which this report is being prepared;

     (b)  Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
          controls and procedures and presented in this report our
          conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
          procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report
          based on such evaluation; and

     (c)  Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
          control over financial reporting that occurred during the
          registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
          fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has
          materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect,
          the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.   The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
     based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
     reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
     registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
     functions):

     (a)  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
          or operation of internal control over financial reporting which
          are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability
          to record, process, summarize and report financial information;
          and

     (b)  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
          other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 11, 2005

                                                  /s/ Mark E. Schwarzmann
                                                  -----------------------
                                                  Mark E. Schwarzmann
                                                  Chief Executive Officer