ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Former Minnesota Gov. Wendell Anderson, a Democrat who was seen as embodying his state when he posed for an iconic Time magazine cover only to lose public confidence by arranging his own appointment to the U.S. Senate, has died. He was 83.
He was surrounded by family and friends at Our Lady of Peace hospice care on St. Paul when he passed away, according to a statement released Sunday by Gov. Dayton.
Dayton has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Anderson's service and contributions.
“Governor Anderson was one of Minnesota's greatest governors. His transformational ‘Minnesota Miracle’ – which he achieved through one of the most momentous bipartisan agreements in our state’s history – has dramatically improved the quality of our state's public education," Dayton said.
Born in St. Paul in 1933, Anderson graduated from Johnson High School and went on to attend the University of Minnesota where he played collegiate hockey from 1951-1954. H later earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic hockey team, winning a silver medal in the 1956 Winter Olympics.
Our thoughts & hearts are with the loved ones of former Minnesota Gov. Wendell Anderson. pic.twitter.com/ibjp6pWe1x
— Minnesota M Hockey (@GopherHockey) July 17, 2016
He also served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957.
While attending law school at the University of Minnesota, Anderson ran for and was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives at age 26. He also served in the Minnesota Senate in 1962 and 1966.
Anderson ran for governor in 1970 at age 37. He was one of the youngest governors in the state's history, serving from 1971 through 1976.
At his political prime in the 1970s, Anderson graced the cover of Time magazine as the leader of a state other places could emulate.
Anderson's downfall was taking the Senate seat of newly elected Vice President Walter Mondale in 1976. Voters never forgave him for claiming Mondale's seat by appointment, a move that required him to quit as governor. Voters decisively rejected Anderson in favor of Republican Rudy Boschwitz in 1978.
Anderson was married to Mary Christine McKee of Bemidiji in 1963. They raised three children together.
“Wendell Anderson was many things: A kid from East St. Paul. A Gopher. An Olympian. An elected public servant of the highest order. But above all else he was a Minnesotan. His love for the state and its citizens was second only to his love for his family," according to a statement released by his family Sunday.