Fred George Aandahl was born April 9, 1897, in Svea Township, near Litchville, North Dakota. He was the son of Soren "Sam" J. and Mamie C. (Lawry) Aandahl. Sam Aandahl came to Dakota Territory in 1881 with his parents, J.S. and Martine. The family was originally from Aandalsnes, Norway. Mamie Lawry arrived in Dakota Territory in 1879, and was of English descent. Sam and Mamie were married on March 28, 1896. Sam served in the North Dakota legislature in 1903, and was also a member of the North Dakota State Railroad Commission. Sam Aandahl died in 1922, preceding the death of Mamie in 1923.
Fred G. Aandahl attended elementary schools in Valley City and rural Svea, before attending Litchville High School for three years. He received the final year of his high school education from the Model High School at the University of North Dakota, graduating in 1917.
He attended the University of North Dakota, graduating in 1921 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Liberal Arts. His major was law, with history and economics being his minor. While at UND, Aandahl was active in Delta Sigma Rho, an honorary society for oratory, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a Greek social fraternity.
Following graduation, Aandahl farmed the family homestead following the death of his farmer. He also served as principal at the Svea Consolidated School (1922-24), before becoming Superintendent of Schools in Litchville in 1924. In 1927, he retired from his career in education to focus his energies on the administration of the family farm. He married Luella Brekke, a teacher from the Litchville Elementary School, on June 28, 1926 in Forman, North Dakota. The couple had three daughters: Louise, Margaret and Marilyn.
Fred Aandahl won a seat in the North Dakota Senate in 1930, returning in 1938 and 1940. In the State Senate, Aandahl served on the Appropriations Committee and was known for his strong support of education. From 1933-35, he was a member of the Barnes County Agricultural Adjustment Administration. He served on the state level of this entity from 1935-38.
Aandahl was a leading member of the Republican Organizing Committee (ROC). The ROC was created to unite all Republicans opposed to William Langer and the Nonpartisan League. Aandahl delivered the keynote address at its first convention, held in Bismarck in March 1944. Besides Aandahl, the other founding members included Rilie Morgan of Grafton, Milton Young of Berlin, and Joseph Bridston of Grand Forks. With the strong backing of the ROC, Aandahl won the Republican nomination for Governor in the June primary. In the November election, he defeated three-term Attorney General Alvin Strutz.
One of Aandahl's first major decisions in office was to appoint a replacement for the recently deceased John Moses to the United States Senate. On 12 March 1945, Aandahl named Milton Young as the replacement. Aandahl was Governor of North Dakota from 1945 to 1950, before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1950. He served one term in the House, before deciding to seek the Republican nomination for the U.S Senate seat held by William Langer. Langer used considerable Democratic and NPL support to defeat Aandahl.
Upon the recommendation of U.S. Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, Aandahl was named Assistant Secretary of the Interior, by President Dwight Eisenhower in February 1953. He served the Eisenhower administration in this capacity until 1961. When the Kennedy Administration took office in January 1961, Aandahl retired to his Litchville farm. He died April 7, 1966 in Fargo, and is buried at Hillside Cemetery in Valley City, North Dakota.
Sources:
Current Biography. v19, no8: September 1958, pp 3-4. "Fred Aandahl" in Barnes County History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing, 1976.
Robinson, Elwyn. History of North Dakota. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1966.
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