Walter Mondale Fast Facts

Here’s a look at the life of Walter Mondale, 42nd vice president of the United States.

Personal

Birth date: January 5, 1928

Death date: April 19, 2021

Birth place: Ceylon, Minnesota

Birth name: Walter Frederick Mondale

Father: Theodore Mondale, a Methodist minister

Mother: Claribel (Cowan) Mondale

Marriage: Joan (Adams) Mondale (December 27, 1955-February 3, 2014, her death)

Children: William, February 27, 1962; Eleanor, (January 19, 1960-September 17, 2011); Theodore “Teddy,” October 12, 1957

Education: University of Minnesota, B.A., 1951; University of Minnesota, L.L.B, 1956

Military Service: US Army, 1951-1953, Corporal

Religion: Presbyterian

Other Facts

Nicknamed “Fritz.”

Mondale announced during his acceptance speech at the 1984 Democratic nominating convention that he would raise taxes in order to reduce the budget deficit. “Let’s tell the truth…Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you, I just did.”

Colorado Sen. Gary Hart defeated Mondale in the New Hampshire primary in 1984 and had initial success positioning himself as the candidate of new ideas, until Mondale remarked, “When I hear your new ideas, I’m reminded of the [Wendy’s] ad, ‘Where’s the beef?’”

Timeline

1956-1960 - Lawyer in private practice.

1960-1964 - Attorney General of Minnesota.

1964 - Appointed US Senator from Minnesota after Hubert H. Humphrey is elected vice president.

1966 - Wins reelection to the US Senate.

1972 - Wins reelection to the US Senate.

1975 - His book, “The Accountability of Power: Toward a More Responsible Presidency,” is published.

July 15, 1976 - Jimmy Carter asks Mondale to be his vice presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket.

January 20, 1977-January 20, 1981 - Mondale serves as vice president under President Carter.

November 4, 1980 - Carter and Mondale are defeated in the presidential election by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

1981-1987 - Member of the firm Winston & Strawn.

July 1984 - Democratic presidential candidate Mondale chooses US Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro (NY) as his running mate, the first woman vice presidential candidate for a major party.

November 1984 - Mondale and Ferraro are defeated in the presidential election by Reagan and Bush.

1987-1993 - Partner at Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis.

1993-1996 - US Ambassador to Japan under President Bill Clinton.

1997 - Rejoins Dorsey & Whitney as partner and senior counsel.

1998 - Envoy to Indonesia under President Clinton.

October 30, 2002 - In Minnesota, becomes the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s candidate, filling the ballot position of the late Senator Paul Wellstone, who died October 25, 2002, in a plane crash.

November 11, 2002 - Is defeated by Norm Coleman (R) in the race for the US Senate.

June 24, 2008 - Accepts position as chairman of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes US-Asia relations.

August 1, 2008 - Becomes Norway’s honorary consul general for Minnesota.

October 16, 2008 - “Fritz: The Walter Mondale Story,” a documentary about Mondale’s life, premieres at the Minnesota History Center.

January 20, 2010 - Resigns from Norwegian honorary consul general post.

October 2010 - His memoir “The Good Fight: A Life in Liberal Politics” with David Hage, is published.

February 12, 2014 - Undergoes successful heart surgery in Rochester, Minnesota.

March 7, 2015 - Is released from the hospital after being admitted with influenza.

April 19, 2021 - Passes away at the age of 93.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale on "Face The Nation" on March 7, 1982.

Mondale is sworn in as Minnesota Attorney General by Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Dell, right, on May 5, 1960, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Mondale and his 4-year-old daughter Eleanor cook steaks in his family's new kitchen in Minneapolis on June 20, 1964.

Joan and Walter Mondale pose for a family photo with their kids Eleanor, William and Ted, in Minneapolis on October 21, 1964.

Mondale smiles while speaking to Minnesota Gov. Karl Rolvaag on November 17, 1964. Rolvaag appointed Mondale to the US Senate after Hubert H. Humphrey was elected vice president.

Mondale, center, clasps his hands and bows his head in a prayer line for civil rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, in Unity Unitarian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 11, 1965.

Mondale and his wife attend the inaugural ball for newly sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington, DC, on January 20, 1965.

Mondale and other senators watch as Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 into law on April 11, 1968.

Jimmy Carter and Mondale clasp hands after their acceptance speeches for the Democratic presidential ticket at the Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on July 15, 1976.

Mondale signs a poster of him and Carter while campaigning in New York on October 4, 1976.

President Carter speaks with Vice President Mondale in the Oval Office in Washington, DC, in May 1977. They defeated the Republican ticket, Gerald Ford and Bob Dole, in the 1976 election.

Vice President Mondale and Sen. Ted Kennedy play doubles in the RFK Tennis Tournament on August 26, 1977, in the Queens borough of New York.

Mondale and President Carter talk together in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 13, 1978, in Washington, DC.

Mondale listens with Speaker of the House Thomas O'Neill as President Carter delivers his speech on the Salt II Treaty to a Joint Session of Congress on June 18, 1979.

Mondale and Dianne Feinstein campaign in San Francisco for President Carter's reelection on September 5, 1980.

Mondale stands beside President Carter as he gives his concession speech on November 4, 1980, after losing to Ronald Reagan.

Mondale gives an interview on December 12, 1983.

Mondale gives a speech at the Minnesota House Chamber after announcing his candidacy for president in St. Paul on February 1, 1983.

Mondale heads out to play tennis while his wife Joan stands on the porch of their Washington, DC, home in 1983.

Mondale scales a fish during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh in April 1984. His nickname, "Fritz," is printed on his apron.

Mondale puckers up to kiss a child while campaigning in May 1984.

Mondale gives a thumbs up to the camera as Rep. Geraldine Ferraro waves in July 1984. Mondale chose Ferraro as his running mate, making her the first woman vice presidential candidate for a major party.

Mondale and his son William work on his acceptance speech ahead of the Democratic National Convention in July 1984.

Mondale addresses a citizens' forum in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, on September 22, 1984. Mondale spoke about the embassy annex bombing in Beirut.

Mondale speaks during a presidential debate with Republican opponent Ronald Reagan in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 7, 1984.

Mondale and family William, Eleanor, and wife Joan celebrate at a party following the debate.

Mondale gives his presidential concession speech on November 6, 1984. He and Ferraro lost to President Ronald Reagan and then-Vice President George H. W. Bush.

Mondale and Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono enter the meeting room at the foreign ministry in Tokyo before their talks on September 21, 1995. Mondale was appointed US Ambassador to Japan under President Bill Clinton.

Mondale is cheered on by supporters in downtown Minneapolis on November 5, 2002. Mondale became Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for US Senate following the death of Sen. Paul Wellstone. Mondale was defeated by Norm Coleman.

Mondale arrives for the funeral mass of his former running mate Geraldine Ferraro at the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer in New York on Thursday, March 31, 2011.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden and Mondale shake hands during an event honoring Mondale at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2015.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale walks through the Ohio Clock Corridor in the Capitol on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, in Washington, DC.

Mondale sits on stage with former President Jimmy Carter during a celebration of Mondale's 90th birthday on Saturday, January 13, 2018, in Minneapolis.

Mondale poses for a photo at his Mill District condo on April 30, 2019, in Minneapolis.

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