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Donald McKay 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. Completing his duties there, 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 for several years.
In 1954, Fraser was elected to the Minnesota State 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 and was was succeeded by Martin Sabo. Fraser went on to serve as mayor of Minneapolis later that year, taking office on January 1, 1980. His first mayoral term was two years in length, and he was re-elected to two 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.
References
- Fraser, Donald MacKay, (1924 - ). (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000350) Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 5, 2004.
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