Governor Fred George Aandahl

FRED GEORGE AANDAHL, the twenty-third governor of North Dakota, was born in Litchville, North Dakota on April 9, 1897. His education was attained at the University of North Dakota, where he graduated in 1921. Besides farming, Aandahl worked as a schoolteacher and principal, eventually becoming the superintendent of Litchville High School. Aandahl first entered politics in 1931, serving as a member of the North Dakota State Senate, a position he held again in 1939 and 1941. He next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor in the 1944 general election. He went on to win reelection to a second term in 1946, as well as to a third term in 1948. During his tenure, conservation programs were promoted; and the state’s natural resources were protected. After leaving the governorship, Aandahl served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1951 to 1953. In his last political position, he served as the assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior, a post he held from 1953 to 1961. Governor Fred G. Aandahl passed away on April 7, 1966, and was buried in the Hillside Cemetery in Valley City, North Dakota.