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                                                                 EXHIBIT 31.1

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

I, Mark E. Schwarzmann, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of IDS 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 (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
        13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) 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:  May 9, 2006

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