Walter Mondale | |
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24th United States Ambassador to Japan | |
In office September 21, 1993 – December 15, 1996 |
|
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Michael Armacost |
Succeeded by | Tom Foley |
42nd Vice President of the United States | |
In office January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981 |
|
President | Jimmy Carter |
Preceded by | Nelson Rockefeller |
Succeeded by | George H. W. Bush |
United States Senator from Minnesota |
|
In office December 30, 1964 – December 30, 1976 |
|
Preceded by | Hubert Humphrey |
Succeeded by | Wendell Anderson |
23rd Attorney General of Minnesota | |
In office May 4, 1960 – December 30, 1964 |
|
Governor |
Orville Freeman Elmer Andersen Karl Rolvaag |
Preceded by | Miles Lord |
Succeeded by | Robert Mattson |
Personal details | |
Born |
Walter Frederick Mondale January 5, 1928 Ceylon, Minnesota, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Joan Adams (m. 1955; d. 2014) |
Children | 3, including Ted and Eleanor Mondale |
Alma mater |
Macalester College University of Minnesota |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1951–1953 |
Rank | Corporal |
Unit | Fort Knox |
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (born January 5, 1928) is an American politician, diplomat and lawyer who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States (1977–81) under Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator from Minnesota (1964–76). He was the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the United States presidential election of 1984, but lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide. Reagan won 49 states while Mondale carried his home state of Minnesota and Washington, D.C.
Mondale was born in Ceylon, Minnesota, and graduated the University of Minnesota in 1951 after attending Macalester College. He then served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War before earning a law degree in 1956. He married Joan Adams in 1955. Working as a lawyer in Minneapolis, Mondale was appointed to the position of attorney general in 1960 by Governor Orville Freeman and was elected to a full term as attorney general in 1962 with 60 percent of votes cast. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Karl Rolvaag upon the resignation of Senator Hubert Humphrey following Humphrey's election as vice president under President Lyndon Johnson. Mondale was subsequently elected to a full Senate term in 1966 and again in 1972, resigning that post in 1976 as he prepared to succeed to the vice presidency in 1977. While in the Senate, he supported consumer protection, fair housing, tax reform, and the desegregation of schools. Importantly, he served as a member of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities ("Church Committee").