Humphrey Freeman

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Orville Freeman and Hubert Humphrey met at the University of Minnesota in the 1930's and sharing an interest in politics, became good friends. When Humphrey was elected as mayor of Minneapolis in 1945, he named Freeman as a special assistant for veteran affairs. Freeman later managed Humphrey's successful United States Senate campaign in 1948. In 1954, with Humphrey leading the Democratic-Farmer-Labor ticket in his successful campaign for re-election, Freeman was elected as governor of Minnesota. In 1960, Freeman was defeated in his bid for re-election, and Humphrey was unsuccessful in securing the Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. President. 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, serving until January 21, 1969. Humphrey was selected by Johnson as his running mate in 1964, and he served as U.S. Vice President from 1965 to 1969.