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Former US Vice President Walter Mondale dies aged 93

April 20, 2021

Walter Mondale, former vice president to Jimmy Carter, has died at the age of 93, according to a statement from his family. He lost the 1984 presidential election to Ronald Reagan by a landslide.

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Walter Mondale
Former Vice President Walter MondaleImage: Joshua Roberts/REUTERS

Former United States Vice President Walter Mondale, who served under Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981, died on Monday at the age of 93.

Mondale is probably best remembered for losing one of the most uneven presidential elections in recent history, to a Ronald Reagan who was at the height of his popularity.

Widest margin of defeat in decades

Mondale lost by 525-13 electoral votes in 1984 — the widest margin in the Electoral College since Franklin Roosevelt beat Alf Landon in 1936. He carried only his home state of Minnesota.

The selection of Geraldine Ferraro as Mondale's running mate made him the first major-party nominee to put a woman on the ticket.

Geraldine Ferarro und Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale during his 1984 presidential campaign, with running mate Geraldine FerraroImage: Sonia Moskowitz Gordon/Globe-ZUMA/picture alliance

Years after the vote, Mondale said his campaign message — that taxes needed to rise — had proven to be correct.

Former presidents Carter and Bill Clinton, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were all reported to have spoken to him in recent days.

Jimmy Carter delivers his State of the Union Address to a joint session of the US Congress in the US House Chamber in the US Capitol on January 20, 1978. Seated behind the President is US Vice President Walter Mondale
Jimmy Carter delivers his 1978 State of the Union Address with Mondale seated immediately behindImage: Imago/ZumaPress

'Keen and dignified to the end'

Mondale's death was announced in a statement from his family, with no cause cited.

His career traced that of his political mentor, Hubert H. Humphrey, who also became vice president after a career in Minnesota politics and the US Senate. He later served as US ambassador to Japan.

In a statement after news of Mondale's death broke, Carter said he considered Mondale to have been "the best vice president in our country's history.''

"There have been few senators, before or since, who commanded such universal respect," Carter said.

"It was Walter Mondale who defined the vice presidency as a full partnership and helped provide a model for my service.''

Fellow Minnesotan Senator Amy Klobuchar mourned Mondale's death, calling him "kind and dignified to the end."

rc/rt (AFP, Reuters, AP)