# Orville Freeman *Governor of Minnesota (1955–1961) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1961–1969)* Orville Lothrop Freeman (May 9, 1918 – February 20, 2003) was a [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] politician. He was the state's 29th [[Governor of Minnesota]], from 1955 to 1961, and then U.S. [[Secretary of Agriculture]] from 1961 to 1969 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and [[Lyndon Johnson]].[^1][^2] He helped found the DFL and was its secretary and then its chairman between 1946 and 1950.[^1] As governor he signed the 1955 Fair Employment Practices Act, which barred employment discrimination by race, color and creed.[^3] In December 1959 he placed Albert Lea under martial law during a meatpacking strike, and twelve days later a federal court ruled the declaration inappropriate.[^1][^4] At the Department of Agriculture he submitted legislation for a permanent [[Food Stamp Program]] on April 17, 1963.[^5] He was still Secretary on May 8, 1968, the date the project's record gives for the statute that became the parent of two federal child-feeding programs.[^6][^7] His son, [[Michael O. Freeman]], served two tenures as [[Hennepin County Attorney]], ending in January 2023.[^1][^8] ## Early life Freeman was born in [[Minneapolis]] on May 9, 1918. His parents were Orville and Frances (Schroeder) Freeman, and his grandfather had come from Sweden to farm near Zumbrota. After attending Central High School, he finished at the [[University of Minnesota]] in 1940 with magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors. At the university he was a reserve quarterback and became a lifelong friend and political ally of [[Hubert Humphrey]].[^1] ## Military service Freeman joined the Marine Reserve in 1940 on the understanding that he could complete law school before serving. After Pearl Harbor he was ordered on December 31, 1941, to Officer Candidate School at Quantico. With the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, he landed at Torokina on Bougainville on November 1, 1943. A few days later, while leading a patrol, he was shot in the jaw and left arm. Because the arm never regained enough movement for him to pass the Marine Corps physical, he could not return to combat.[^1] ## Political career ### Party organization Freeman received his LL.B. from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] in 1946 and practiced law in Minneapolis. The newly formed DFL made him its secretary for 1946–1948 and its chairman for 1948–1950. During those years he worked as an aide to Humphrey, who was then mayor of Minneapolis, and he managed Humphrey's winning 1948 campaign for the U.S. Senate.[^1] Freeman lost the 1950 race for [[Attorney General of Minnesota]]. He also lost the 1952 race for governor to the Republican incumbent, [[C. Elmer Anderson]].[^1] ### Governor (1955–1961) Freeman defeated Anderson on November 2, 1954, by 68,234 votes, and became the first DFL governor of the state.[^2] Voters returned him to office in 1956 and 1958.[^1] He argued for four-year gubernatorial terms because two years did not give programs enough time to be carried out. The longer term came later, under Governor [[Karl Rolvaag]].[^1] In 1958 he was considered for the U.S. Senate but declined to run, saying there was a "superabundance of good candidates."[^1] In 1955 Governor Freeman signed the Fair Employment Practices Act. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights' history describes the act as banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color and creed.[^3] On December 11, 1959, Freeman declared martial law in Albert Lea during a strike at the Wilson Packing Company. The stated purpose was to keep law and order. Twelve days later a federal court held the martial law inappropriate.[^1] A federal district court decision in *Wilson & Co. v. Freeman* is reported at 179 F. Supp. 520.[^4] On May 5, 1960, Freeman appointed Walter Mondale, then 32, as Minnesota Attorney General.[^9] Freeman lost the 1960 governor's race to [[Elmer L. Andersen]].[^1] ### Secretary of Agriculture (1961–1969) In July 1960 Freeman put Kennedy's name in nomination at the Democratic National Convention. After the election Kennedy chose him as Secretary of Agriculture, and Johnson kept him in the post.[^1] The JFK Library's list of Kennedy administration officials and the Miller Center date his tenure from January 21, 1961, to January 20, 1969.[^10][^11] The project's time table, citing Wikipedia, gives January 20, 1961, as the day he was sworn in.[^1] USDA's history of SNAP records that pilot food stamp programs were announced on February 2, 1961. The same history records that Freeman submitted proposed legislation for a permanent Food Stamp Program on April 17, 1963.[^5] The Food Stamp Act of 1964, P.L. 88-525, 78 Stat. 703, was signed on August 31, 1964. The President's signing remarks do not name Freeman.[^12] The project's at-issue record describes the 1968 statute. According to that record, [[Public Law 90-302]] added Section 13 to the [[National School Lunch Act]] on May 8, 1968, under the heading *[[Special Food Service Program for Children]]*, and that section is the statutory parent of both CACFP and SFSP.[^7] Freeman held office as Secretary on that date.[^6] ## Later life After leaving office, Freeman ran two consulting firms and practiced law in Washington, D.C. From 1970 to 1985 he was president and CEO of Business International Corporation. He died in Minneapolis on February 20, 2003, of complications of Alzheimer's disease, and was buried at [[Lakewood Cemetery]].[^1] The Minnesota Historical Society keeps a finding aid for his papers.[^13] ## Legacy His Wikipedia biography gives proposing the Food Stamp Program, which is still in use, as his chief legacy. An award named for him, for distinguished service to Greater Minnesota and agricultural issues, has been given every year since 2012.[^1] His son, Michael Orville Freeman, was born in Minneapolis on May 7, 1948, and earned a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1974. According to the Legislative Reference Library's legislator record, he represented District 40 in the [[Minnesota Senate]] from 1982 to 1991. The same record gives his tenures as Hennepin County Attorney as January 7, 1991 – January 5, 1999, and January 3, 2007 – January 2, 2023.[^8] He lost the 1994 DFL endorsement to [[John Marty]]. In 1998 he won the endorsement for governor but lost the primary to [[Skip Humphrey]].[^14] ## In the at-issue record Each pair below sets dated facts side by side. The record does not establish causation between them. ### The 1968 statute and the 2026 task force The at-issue record places the May 8, 1968 enactment of Public Law 90-302, made during Freeman's tenure as Secretary, next to the March 2026 presidential action *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud*.[^7][^6] ### Martial law and the federal court The December 11, 1959 martial-law declaration was followed twelve days later by a federal ruling that it was inappropriate. The record documents that sequence.[^1][^4] ### The Hennepin County Attorney's Office Under Michael Freeman, the [[Hennepin County Attorney's Office]] announced on March 30, 2016, that it would bring no charges against Officers Ringgenberg and Schwarze in the shooting of [[Jamar Clark]]. The announcement cited forensic evidence.[^15] The office charged [[Mohamed Noor]] in 2018. In 2020 it charged [[Derek Chauvin]] and three other officers.[^14] In May 2020 Governor Tim Walz appointed Attorney General [[Keith Ellison]] to lead the prosecution in the Chauvin case.[^16] On September 11, 2020, Judge [[Peter Cahill]] disqualified Freeman and three of his staff from the [[George Floyd cases]] after staff met with the [[medical examiner]].[^14] ### Federal action against the State On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. The release records that Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^17] The pack does not give the complaint's docket number or current status. It also does not establish any connection between that suit and the 1955 Fair Employment Practices Act.[^17] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Orville Freeman, DFL, Governor of Minnesota from 1955 to 1961.[^2] - Walter Mondale, appointed Minnesota Attorney General by Governor Freeman on May 5, 1960, at age 32.[^9] ### What - 1955: Freeman signed the Fair Employment Practices Act, barring employment discrimination by race, color and creed.[^3] - April 17, 1963: Freeman submitted proposed legislation for a permanent Food Stamp Program.[^5] ### When - November 2, 1954: elected governor, defeating C. Elmer Anderson by 68,234 votes.[^2] - 1956 and 1958: re-elected governor.[^1] - December 11, 1959: declared martial law in Albert Lea.[^1] - January 21, 1961 – January 20, 1969: Secretary of Agriculture, per the JFK Library list.[^10] ### Where - Albert Lea, the site of the 1959 martial-law declaration during the Wilson Packing Company strike.[^1] ### Why - The source states the purpose of the martial-law declaration as maintaining law and order during the strike. The pack records no other reason.[^1] ### How many - Freeman lost two statewide races (attorney general in 1950 and governor in 1952), then won three gubernatorial elections (1954, 1956, 1958), then lost a fourth in 1960.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Orville Freeman* (rev. 1368034333, retrieved 2026-10-25) — biography, party offices, elections, martial law, cabinet service, later life, legacy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orville_Freeman [^2]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Gov. Orville Freeman* — governorship; 1954 defeat of C. Elmer Anderson by 68,234 votes. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=10 [^3]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *MN history video text* — 1955 Fair Employment Practices Act signed by Gov. Freeman, barring employment discrimination by race, color and creed. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/videos/history-videos/mnhistory-videotext4.jsp [^4]: U.S. District Court (via Justia), *Wilson & Co. v. Freeman*, 179 F. Supp. 520 — federal decision in the case captioned against Freeman. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/179/520/1522622/ [^5]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, *A Short History of SNAP* — pilot programs announced Feb. 2, 1961; Freeman's April 17, 1963 submission of permanent Food Stamp Program legislation. https://www.fna.usda.gov/snap/history [^6]: Miller Center, *Freeman, 1963 — Secretary of Agriculture* (Johnson administration) — Freeman's continuation as Secretary through January 20, 1969. https://millercenter.org/president/lbjohnson/essays/freeman-1963-secretary-of-agriculture [^7]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — anchor of at-issue pair AI-001, which records the May 8, 1968 enactment of P.L. 90-302; the statute text is not among the pack's URLs. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^8]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Legislator record: Michael Orville Freeman* — birth, J.D. 1974, Senate District 40 1982–1991, Hennepin County Attorney tenures. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10197 [^9]: Wikipedia, *Walter Mondale* — appointed Minnesota Attorney General by Gov. Freeman, May 5, 1960, at 32. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mondale [^10]: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, *Officials of the Kennedy Administration* — Freeman's tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, January 21, 1961 – January 20, 1969. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/fast-facts-john-f-kennedy/officials-of-the-kennedy-administration [^11]: Miller Center, *Freeman, 1961 — Orville, Secretary of Agriculture* (Kennedy administration) — Freeman's appointment and tenure. https://millercenter.org/president/kennedy/essays/freeman-1961-orville-secretary-of-agriculture [^12]: The American Presidency Project, *Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act* (Aug. 31, 1964) — P.L. 88-525, 78 Stat. 703; Freeman not named in the remarks. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-the-food-stamp-act [^13]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Orville Freeman Papers* (finding aid) — the archival collection of Freeman's papers. http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00372.html [^14]: Wikipedia, *Michael O. Freeman* — 1994 and 1998 endorsement contests; Noor and Chauvin charges; Cahill disqualification of September 11, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O._Freeman [^15]: Hennepin County Attorney's Office, *Clark decision* (March 30, 2016) — no charges against Officers Ringgenberg and Schwarze; forensic evidence cited. https://www.hennepinattorney.org/news/news/2016/March/cao-clark-decision-3-30-2016 [^16]: CBS News, *Keith Ellison to lead George Floyd case prosecution* (May 2020) — Gov. Walz appointment of Attorney General Ellison as lead prosecutor. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keith-ellison-george-floyd-case-prosecution/ [^17]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — title of the release; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime