Walter "Fritz" Mondale

U.S. Vice President

Born: 5 January 1928
Birthplace: Ceylon, Minnesota
Best known as:

Vice President of the United States, 1977-81

Name at birth: Walter Frederick Mondale


Democrat Walter Mondale has been a U.S. senator, vice president, presidential candidate, and ambassador in his long career in politics. Walter Mondale was born in Minnesota and got involved in Minnesota politics in 1948, when he helped elect Hubert H. Humphrey to the U.S. Senate (1948). He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Political Science in 1951, served in the U.S. Army, and then got a law degree from the same school in 1956. He was appointed state attorney general in 1960, and when Sen. Humphrey was chosen to be Lyndon Johnson's vice president in 1964, Walter Mondale was named to Humphrey's seat in the Senate. Mondale was re-elected in 1966 and 1972, then served as vice president under Jimmy Carter from 1977-81. Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980, and in 1984 Mondale became the Democratic Party's nominee to run against Reagan. Mondale made history by choosing Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, making her the first woman ever on a major-party presidential ticket. Mondale made history in a different way on Election Day, winning only 13 electoral votes to Reagan's 525. It remains the greatest margin of victory in U.S. presidential history. Walter Mondale returned to practicing law, and during the administration of fellow Democrat Bill Clinton, Mondale was the U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1993-97). In 2002, when Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before Election Day, Mondale stepped into the race in his place, but lost to Republican Norm Coleman. Norway named him Honorary Consul General in Minneapolis in 2007.

Extra credit:

Walter Mondale's nickname is "Fritz"... He married the former Joan Adams on 27 December 1955. They have three children: Theodore (b. 1957), Eleanor (b. 1960) and William (b. 1962). Eleanor Mondale is a TV and radio personality.
