Former Vice President Walter Mondale died Monday at the age of 93, his family confirmed in a statement. Mondale, who was the Democratic candidate for president in 1984 and a longtime senator from Minnesota, “died peacefully of natural causes,” the family said.
“It is with deep sadness that we share news that our beloved father passed away today in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Mondale’s family said.
The son of a pastor, Mondale, known as Fritz became one of Minnesota’s most famous political figures in a state known for its Democratic politicians. He was selected in 1964 to replace then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a mentor, in the Senate. In his 12 years in the United States Senate, Mondale followed in the footsteps of Humphrey, the lead author of the Civil Rights Act, in championing civil rights and other progressive causes.
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In the statement announcing his death, Mondale’s family highlighted his work in passing civil rights law and the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.
“The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was one of his proudest and hardest-fought achievements,” said Mondale’s family. Over the course of his years in the United States Senate, he understood the sense of reckoning that this country was dealing with at the time, and he was committed to that work along with Hubert Humphrey, Josie Johnson, Roy Wilkins, and so many others. We are grateful that he had the chance to see the emergence of a new generation of civil rights reckoning in recent months. “
Jimmy Carter, the Georgia governor who was unlikely to win the Democratic nomination in 1976, turned to Mondale when he needed a “Northern presence” on the ticket – and someone with a liberal track record. Despite being relatively unknown, the pair narrowly prevailed over President Gerald Ford, who had been severely weakened by Watergate and Vietnam.
In a statement after Mondale’s deathMr. Carter called Mondale a “best friend” and said he called him the “greatest vice president in our country’s history.”
“During our administration, Fritz used his political skill and personal integrity to transform the vice presidency into a dynamic, policy-driven force that was never seen before and still exists,” Carter said. “He was an invaluable partner and an accomplished servant to the people of Minnesota.”
President Biden released a statement late Monday saying, “It is with great sadness that Jill and I learned of Vice President Walter Mondale’s passing, but deep gratitude that we are one of our country’s most devoted patriots and officials. dear friend and mentor. “
Former President Obama tweeted Monday night that Mondale was “in favor of progressive goals and changing the role of VP – so leaders like @JoeBiden could be the last in the room when decisions were made. By selecting Geraldine Ferraro, he also paved the way for @VP to write history. “
Mondale attended Macalester College in St. Paul before transferring to the University of Minnesota, where he also received his law degree. He served in the United States Army for two years and married his wife Joan in 1955. The couple were married for nearly 60 years until her death in 2014. They had three children, Ted, William and Eleanor, who died in 2011.
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Mondale first became involved in democratic party politics in 1948 when Humphrey, the then Mayor of Minneapolis, was running for the Senate. Humphrey received national attention in those elections, calling on the Democratic Party to focus on civil rights. It set the tone for the Minnesota Democrats for decades to come.
Mondale was an attorney in Minneapolis before being selected to take over the position of attorney general in 1960. He won two elections himself before being selected to replace Humphrey in the Senate.
As a senator, Mondale was in favor of the Civil Rights Act, as well as environmental protection, consumer protection, tax reform, school desegregation, and filibuster reform.
Mondale ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1976 election, but dropped out early before being selected as Mr. Carter’s running mate. Mr. Carter, who introduced himself as an outsider cleaning up Washington, needed an insider on the ticket. The pair carried the South along with a few pivotal Northern states – New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, among others – and won 297 votes from the Electoral College.
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Mondale was the first vice president to have an office in the White House, and he was a close adviser to Mr. Carter. Mondale traveled extensively and was instrumental in the Camp David Accords, his family said.
But Mr. Carter was plagued by what he himself called the “crisis of confidence” in a speech that became known as the “malaise speech” that Mondale advised him not to deliver, according to The New York Times. Republican challenger Ronald Reagan sailed to the White House in the 1980 election, winning all but four states and Washington, DC
Mondale led the Democratic nomination in 1984. But he had a surprise in store: he made history by choosing Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, the first woman ever on a major party ticket. There would be no other woman on the ticket until Sarah Palin in 2008, and a woman would not be elected vice president until Kamala Harris in 2020.
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In a statement on Monday evening, Harris called Ferraro’s selection “a bold and historic choice.” Harris said Mondale “lived an extraordinary life of service.”
But Mondale’s campaign was no match for Reagan’s rising popularity. At the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Mondale bluntly said he would raise taxes, and Reagan responded with the famous “Morning in America” ad. During a presidential debate, Reagan readily dealt with questions about his advanced age I am not going to exploit my opponent’s youth and inexperience for political ends. Mondale would later say he thought the campaign was over by then.
Mondale and Ferraro would lose every state, but Minnesota and Washington, DC. Mondale went back to Minnesota to exercise rights, but he returned to public service in 1993 with the election of President Bill Clinton. He served as US Ambassador to Japan and also chaired a bipartisan group to study campaign finance reform and was the President’s Special Envoy to Indonesia in 1998.
Mondale briefly returned to electoral politics in 2002 after Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before the election. After Wellstone, Mondale, then 74, was selected to replace the late senator on the ballot. In 2003, he told Minnesota Public Radio it was “a pleasure” to return to the campaign trail.
But Wellstone’s memorial turned into something of a political rally, and Republicans accused Democrats of playing politics with tragedy. Mondale was defeated by Norm Coleman – the last time a Republican has won a Senate seat in Minnesota.
Mondale largely withdrew from public life. In his last days, after sending a final farewell letter to 300 of his current and former staffers, he was inundated with phone calls – including from Mr Biden and Harris – a spokesman said.
He wrote to his staff:
Well, my time has come. I’d like to rejoin Joan and Eleanor. Before I go I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Never has a civil servant had a better group of people by their side!
“Together we have achieved so much and I know you will continue the good fight.
“Joe in the White House certainly helps.
“I’ve always known it would be okay if I arrived somewhere and was greeted by one of you!”
-Jamie Yuccas, Kristin Brown and Ed O’Keefe contributed to the reporting.