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.[1]
Freeman was a 1940 graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he met his life-long friend and political ally, Hubert H. Humphrey. During World War II, he served as a combat officer in United States Marine Corps, achieving the rank of major.
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 in 2003 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Orville's son Mike Freeman was County Attorney for Hennepin County, Minnesota from 1991-1999, and was a candidate for Governor in 1998.
See also
- List of famous Minnesotans (Hidden Hometown Heroes)
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