Skip to Main Content

U.S. Vice Presidents: Walter Mondale

Picture

Walter F. Mondale

(1928 - Present)

Mondale, Walter

Profile

Occupation

42nd U.S. Vice President (January 20, 1977 - January 20, 1981)

U.S. Senator from Minnesota (December 30, 1964 - December 30, 1976)

24th U.S. Ambassador to Japan (September 21, 1993 - December 15, 1996)

Lawyer

Date of Birth January 5, 1928
Place of Birth Ceylon, Minnesota
Nickname "Fritz"
Education

Macalester College

University of Minnesota (BA, JD)

Parents

Claribel Hope (née Cowan)

Theodore Sigvaard Mondale

Spouse Joan Adams (m. 1955; died 2014)
Political Party

Democratic

Military

Allegiance

United States

Branch/Service

United States Army

Years of Service

1951 - 1953

Rank

Corporal

Unit

Fort Knox

Number of Children Three

Did You Know?

Vice President Mondale...

  • ...joined the United States Army and served a couple of years at Fort Knox during the Korean War.
  • ...filled the Senate seat of Hubert Humphrey, who was elected to be Vice President.
  • ...was a strong supporter of the 1965 Voting Right Act.

Biography

Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American politician, diplomat and lawyer who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A United States senator from Minnesota (1964–1976), he was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1984 United States presidential election, but lost to incumbent Ronald Reagan in an Electoral College and popular vote landslide. Reagan won 49 states while Mondale carried his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. In October 2002, Mondale became the last-minute choice of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party to run for Senate after the death of Senator Paul Wellstone, but was defeated by Saint Paul Mayor Norm Coleman. Mondale became the oldest living former U.S. vice president after the death of George H. W. Bush in 2018.

Quotes

 “Mr. Reagan will raise taxes; and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did. ”

 "We have a lot of problems confronting our nation: the possibility of war, the growing threat in Korea, a serious threat of terrorism clearly around."

—Walter Mondale

Books Located in the Library

Currently, we do not have any books on Vice President Walter Mondale. Please check out our E-book collection.

Broken Links