Donald M. Fraser

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Donald Mackay Fraser (born February 20, 1924) is an American politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Fraser was born in Minneapolis and was educated in the public school system there before going on to the University of Minnesota where he was a member of the Navy ROTC. After graduating in 1944, he spent some time in the Pacific Theater during World War II and worked as a radar officer into the peacetime that followed, ending in 1946.

He returned to Minneapolis to obtain a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. Fraser was admitted to the bar in 1948, and practiced law until 1962.

In 1954, Fraser was elected to the Minnesota Senate and served for eight years ending in 1962 when he gained an office in the United States House of Representatives serving Minnesota's Fifth District. He served there from January 3, 1963 until January 3, 1979, after giving up his seat to run for the U.S. Senate, losing in the 1978 primary election.

Fraser was elected mayor of Minneapolis in 1979, taking office on January 1, 1980. His first mayoral term was two years in length, and he was re-elected to three four-year terms after that, making him the longest-serving mayor in Minneapolis history. Fraser left office on December 31, 1993, succeeded by the city's first female and first African-American mayor, Sharon Sayles Belton.

Fraser served as a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He was married in 1950 to the former Arvonne Skelton, a longtime political activist who ran for lieutenant governor of Minnesota in 1986. The Frasers had six children.

[edit] References

• Fraser, Donald MacKay, (1924 - ). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 5, 2004.

Preceded by: Albert J. Hofstede	Mayor of Minneapolis 1980 – 1993	Succeeded by: Sharon Sayles Belton
Preceded by: Walter Judd	United States Representative for the 5th Congressional District of Minnesota 1963 – 1979	Succeeded by: Martin Olav Sabo