Freeman, Orville Lothrop, 1918-2003, American political figure, b. Minneapolis. In World War II he served in the U.S. marine corps, was severely wounded, and was discharged with the rank of major in 1945. After the war he engaged in private law practice and became active in politics. Running on the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party ticket, Freeman was elected governor of Minnesota in 1954 (the first non-Republican governor in 17 years) and was reelected in 1956 and 1958. As governor he greatly expanded state aid to elementary and higher education and worked to improve the state's health institutions. Following his defeat for reelection as governor, he was appointed secretary of agriculture by President John F. Kennedy. He advocated substantial crop supports and controls, use of farm surpluses as an instrument of foreign policy, food gifts to depressed areas, and the food stamp and school breakfast programs. Secretary from 1961 to 1969, he served throughout the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Orville Lothrop Freeman (May 9, 1918 February 20, 2003) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 29th Governor of Minnesota from January 5, 1955 to January 2, 1961, and as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1961 to 1969 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He was one of the founding members of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and strongly influential in the merger of the pre-DFL Minnesota Democratic and Farmer-Labor Parties.

Born in 1918 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Freeman is best remembered for initiating the Food Stamp Program for under-resourced people which is still in use today.

Freeman was a 1940 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he met his life-long friend and political ally, Hubert Humphrey. During World War II, he served as a combat officer in United States Marine Corps, achieving the rank of major. He earned his LL.B. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1946.

On November 13, 1955, he was a guest on the variety show Toast of the Town (which would later be called The Ed Sullivan Show). He died from Alzheimer's Disease in 2003 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Orville's son Mike Freeman was a candidate for Governor in 1998 and has served non-consecutive terms as County Attorney for Hennepin County, Minnesota from 1991 until 1999, and continuously since 2007.

See also

References

• Minnesota Historical Society