Orville Freeman

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. Freeman nominated Kennedy for President at the 1960 Democratic Party national convention.

Early years

Freeman was born on May 9, 1918, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry. Freeman was a 1940 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he met his lifelong friend and political ally, Hubert H. Humphrey. He also met his wife, Jane Charlotte Shields, in college. They married on May 2, 1942. Orville and Jane Freeman had two children, Michael Orville and Constance Jane Freeman. During World War II, Freeman served as a combat officer in the United States Marine Corps and achieved the rank of Major.

Marine Corps service

Figuring that the United States would eventually become involved in World War II, Freeman signed up for the Marine Reserves in late 1940 with the understanding he could finish law school before fulfilling his required service. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed that agreement, and on December 31, 1941 he received orders to report to Officer Candidate School at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

After graduating OCS and follow training to be an infantry officer, he reported to Camp Elliot which was just outside San Diego, California. He was soon assigned to the 9th Marine Regiment, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines. His unit eventually shipped out overseas for periods of training in New Zealand and Guadalcanal.

On November 1, 1943 he saw his first combat when his unit came ashore at Torokina on Bougainville in what were the first battles of the Bougainville Campaign. A few days later, while leading a patrol, he encountered a group of five or six Japanese soldiers in a clearing. An exchange of gunfire followed, and Freeman was wounded in the jaw and left arm. Eventually, he was evacuated to an Army hospital on New Caledonia and then to a Naval hospital on Noumea. He returned to the United States in 1944 but never recovered enough movement in his arm to pass a Marine Corps physical and return to combat.

Post-war and political career

He earned his LL.B. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1946. Freeman went on to practice law in Minneapolis. He ran unsuccessfully for attorney general of Minnesota in 1950 and for governor in 1952.

The Kennedy Round negotiations were discussed in 1967. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference by William M. Roth, a special representative for the Trade Representative, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Alexander B. Trowbridge, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville L. Freeman and the Under Secretary of Labor James J. Reynolds.

Freeman was elected Governor in 1954, and was re-elected in 1956 and 1958. As governor, Freeman took the unusual action of declaring martial law in the city of Albert Lea on December 11, 1959, to maintain law and order during a strike at the Wilson Packing Company. After twelve days, a federal court ruled that the Governor's imposition of martial law was inappropriate. Also while serving as governor, on November 13, 1955, Freeman was a guest on the variety show Toast of the Town (which would later be called The Ed Sullivan Show). In July 1960, Freeman nominated then-U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for President at the Democratic National Convention. Following his defeat for re-election as Governor in 1960, Freeman was appointed as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by the newly elected President John F. Kennedy, and was retained in that post by President Lyndon B. Johnson following Kennedy's assassination in November 22, 1963 serving until January 21, 1969.

Following his service as the Secretary of Agriculture, Freeman headed two consulting businesses and practiced law in Washington, D.C.

Freeman died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on February 20, 2003 in Minneapolis and was buried there at Lakewood Cemetery.

Freeman is remembered for submitting proposed legislation to establish the Food Stamp Program for the poor, which is still in use today.

His son Mike Freeman ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1998 and has served non-consecutive terms as County Attorney for Hennepin County, Minnesota (1991 to 1999, and 2007 to the present).

Known decorations and medals include: