Former Vice President Walter Mondale's funeral services are being scheduled for September. Flags at the White House and Federal Capitol have been returned to full-staff.

A Proclamation on the Death of Walter Mondale

APRIL 20, 2021

Today, our Nation mourns the loss of one of our Nation’s most dedicated patriots and public servants. Walter Frederick “Fritz” Mondale served the people of Minnesota as their Attorney General from 1960-1964, as a United States Senator from 1964-1976, as Vice President of the United States from 1977-1981, and as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 1993-1996.

As Minnesota’s Attorney General, he drew national attention in a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court that established that indigent criminal defendants have the right to legal counsel.

As a Senator, he was instrumental in the passage of The Fair Housing Act to combat racial discrimination in housing, Title IX to provide more opportunities for women, and numerous laws to protect our environment.

Walter Mondale defined the modern vice presidency, elevating the position into a true partnership with the President. As Vice President, he helped lay the groundwork for the 1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the Panama Canal Treaty, and nuclear arms negotiations with the Soviet Union.

As the 1984 Democratic nominee for President, he made history when he became the first Presidential nominee of either party to select a woman as his running mate.

In continuing his service as the United States Ambassador to Japan, he became the voice and face of America to that important ally.

For nearly 60 years he had a remarkable partnership with his wife Joan, a devoted advocate for the arts, who passed away in 2014. We mourned when he lost his daughter Eleanor in 2011 and today our Nation’s sympathies lie with his sons Ted and William and his six grandchildren.

On a wall at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, there is a quote from Walter Mondale. It reads, “We told the truth. We obeyed the law. We kept the peace.” Walter Mondale did all that and more.

As a mark of respect for Walter Mondale and his life of service to our Nation, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 7 of title 4, United States Code, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on the day of interment. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

Statement from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on the Passing of Walter Mondale

It’s with great sadness that Jill and I learned of the passing of Vice President Walter Mondale, but great gratitude that we were able to call one of our nation’s most dedicated patriots and public servants a dear friend and mentor.

Jill and I had the opportunity to speak to Fritz and his family over the weekend, to reflect on the years of friendship we shared, and how much we learned from and leaned on each other.

When I arrived in the United States Senate in 1973, Walter Mondale was one of the first people to greet me. Through his work as a Senator, he showed me what was possible. He may have been modest and unassuming in manner, but he was unwavering in his pursuit of progress; instrumental in passing laws like the Fair Housing Act to prevent racial discrimination in housing, Title IX to provide more opportunities for women, and laws to protect our environment. There have been few senators, before or since, who commanded such universal respect.

When President Obama asked me to consider being his Vice President, Fritz was my first call and trusted guide. He not only took my call, he wrote me a memo. It was Walter Mondale who defined the vice presidency as a full partnership, and helped provide a model for my service.

And Joan did the same for Jill, helping her carve out a role for herself as our nation’s Second Lady.

He not only created a path for himself, he helped others do the same. Walter Mondale was the first presidential nominee of either party to select a woman as his running mate, and I know how pleased he was to be able to see Kamala Harris become Vice President.

In accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for President, he described the values he was taught to live by: “to play by the rules; to tell the truth; to obey the law; to care for others; to love our country; to cherish our faith.”

As a Senator, an Ambassador, a Vice President, and a candidate for President, he lived and spread those values.

Our hearts go out to the Mondale family. And we take some comfort in the fact that he is with Joan and Eleanor now.