Walter Mondale and His Crusade for Public Accountability

This volume of Minnesota Law Review is dedicated to the memory of the Honorable Walter F. Mondale, former Vice President of the United States of America. A 1956 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and an editor of Minnesota Law Review Volume 39, Mondale was the 42nd Vice President of the United States, serving in office from 1977 to 1981. Following his inauguration, Vice President Mondale became the modern prototype of an activist Vice President, transforming the role from titular figurehead to valued advisor. Prior to his Vice Presidency, Mondale served as U.S. Senator for Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. Mondale also served as the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1960 to 1963. Entering politics as a young adult, Mondale played a prominent role in Hubert Humphrey’s U.S. Senatorial campaign in 1948 and Orville Freeman’s gubernatorial campaigns in 1952, 1954, and 1958. After leaving national politics, Mondale was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan in 1993 by President Clinton. In addition to his long and venerable career in politics, Mondale remained actively engaged with the University of Minnesota Law School community and mentored students as an instructor at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. In 2002, the University of Minnesota Law School’s building was renamed Walter F. Mondale Hall in recognition of his lifetime of public service. Each issue of Volume 106 will include remembrances of and tributes to Vice President Mondale written by those who worked alongside him, including many close friends and mentees. A lifelong advocate for justice who led with compassion, Vice President Mondale’s legacy set an ambitious standard for future lawyer-leaders and Minnesota Law graduates. This Volume of Minnesota Law Review is dedicated to Walter “Fritz” Mondale’s enduring legacy, and his many years of public service on behalf of Minnesotans and Americans alike.