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?’”
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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
AP
Former Vice President Walter Mondale on "Face The Nation" on March 7, 1982.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
Gene Herrick/AP
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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale and his 4-year-old daughter Eleanor cook steaks in his family's new kitchen in Minneapolis on June 20, 1964.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Joan and Walter Mondale pose for a family photo with their kids Eleanor, William and Ted, in Minneapolis on October 21, 1964.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
Gene Herrick/AP
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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale and his wife attend the inaugural ball for newly sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington, DC, on January 20, 1965.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale and other senators watch as Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 into law on April 11, 1968.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale signs a poster of him and Carter while campaigning in New York on October 4, 1976.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale and President Carter talk together in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 13, 1978, in Washington, DC.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale and Dianne Feinstein campaign in San Francisco for President Carter's reelection on September 5, 1980.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale stands beside President Carter as he gives his concession speech on November 4, 1980, after losing to Ronald Reagan.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale gives an interview on December 12, 1983.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale gives a speech at the Minnesota House Chamber after announcing his candidacy for president in St. Paul on February 1, 1983.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale heads out to play tennis while his wife Joan stands on the porch of their Washington, DC, home in 1983.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale scales a fish during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh in April 1984. His nickname, "Fritz," is printed on his apron.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale puckers up to kiss a child while campaigning in May 1984.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale and his son William work on his acceptance speech ahead of the Democratic National Convention in July 1984.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale addresses a citizens' forum in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, on September 22, 1984. Mondale spoke about the embassy annex bombing in Beirut.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale speaks during a presidential debate with Republican opponent Ronald Reagan in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 7, 1984.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale and family William, Eleanor, and wife Joan celebrate at a party following the debate.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
Mike Segar/Reuters
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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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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.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Former Vice President Walter Mondale walks through the Ohio Clock Corridor in the Capitol on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, in Washington, DC.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale sits on stage with former President Jimmy Carter during a celebration of Mondale's 90th birthday on Saturday, January 13, 2018, in Minneapolis.
Photos: In pictures: Former Vice President Walter Mondale
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Mondale poses for a photo at his Mill District condo on April 30, 2019, in Minneapolis.