Arthur Naftalin (June 28, 1917 – May 16, 2005) was an American

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and politician. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

(DFL), he served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

from July 3, 1961, to July 6, 1969. He was the first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

mayor of Minneapolis.

Early life

Naftalin was born in

Fargo Fargo usually refers to: * Fargo, North Dakota, United States * ''Fargo'' (1996 film), a crime film by the Coen brothers * ''Fargo'' (TV series), an American black comedy–crime drama anthology television series Fargo may also refer to: Othe ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...

, one of four children of Sandel and Tillie Naftalin. He was married to Frances Healy Naftalin; among their children is

Mark Naftalin Mark Naftalin (born August 2, 1944) is an American blues keyboardist, recording artist, composer, and record producer. He appears on the first five albums by Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the mid 1960s as a band member, and as such was indu ...

, a musician who was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

in 2015 as a member of the

Paul Butterfield Blues Band Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his ...

. Their other notable children are David Michael Bismarck and Gail Marie Naftalin.

University of Minnesota and Hubert Humphrey

Naftalin came to

to attend the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, from which he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in 1939 and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

in 1948. His dissertation was a history of the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota. During this time, he became acquainted with

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing M ...

and helped Humphrey lead the merger of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

's Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties into the DFL in 1944. In 1945, Humphrey was elected mayor and Naftalin was appointed to work in his office. Naftalin later became a professor in the department of political science at the

. He served as commissioner of administration under

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Orville L. Freeman.

Mayor

In 1961, he won the first of his four two-year terms as mayor, defeating incumbent Republican Mayor P. Kenneth Peterson by a margin of 52.04% to 47.96%. He attended the 1963

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...

and was present at

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

's " I Have a Dream" speech. He ran for the DFL endorsement for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1966. In 1967, he called in the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. N ...

to quell the 1967 Plymouth Avenue civil unrest. Naftalin declined to seek reelection in 1969, becoming the only mayor of Minneapolis in the period 1913–1979 who never resigned or lost an

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. Naftalin was succeeded by Charlie Stenvig, a police officer with no previous political experience who promised a "law and order" approach to any future civil unrest.

Life after leaving office

After leaving office, Naftalin became a professor in the department of public affairs at the

(now the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs). In 1971, he joined the Board of Directors of the Citizens League, and served as President of the Board in 1975–1976. From 1976 to 1987, he produced and hosted 500 installments of ''Minnesota Issues'', a weekly public-affairs program on local

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

station

KTCA Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. (abbreviated TPT, doing business as Twin Cities PBS) is a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two PBS member television stations, KTCA-TV (channe ...

. In 1980 he produced, wrote, and narrated a series of one-hour television documentaries about former

governors. He retired in 1987. On the morning of May 16, 2005, Naftalin struck his head in a fall, went into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

, and died later in the day at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in

. He donated his body to the

for research.

References

*Rochelle Olson (May 17, 2005)
Former Minneapolis Mayor Arthur Naftalin dies.
'' Star Tribune''. *David Hawley (May 18, 2005)
Arthur Naftalin, 87, former mayor.
'' St. Paul Pioneer Press''. * Citizens League News, 1952–200
CitizensLeague.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naftalin, Arthur 1917 births 2005 deaths University of Minnesota alumni Accidental deaths from falls Jewish mayors of places in the United States American political scientists Mayors of Minneapolis Minnesota Democrats Politicians from Fargo, North Dakota Accidental deaths in Minnesota 20th-century American politicians Jewish American people in Minnesota politics 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century political scientists