Elford Albin "Al" Cederberg (March 6, 1918 – April 17, 2006) was a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Biography

Cederberg was born to dairy farmers Albin and Helen (Olson) Cederberg in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

; his father and maternal grandparents were immigrants from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He attended public schools and Bay City Junior College from 1935 to 1937. He entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in April 1941, was commissioned as second lieutenant in July 1942, became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1943, and was assigned to the 83rd Infantry Division. He participated in the

Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, and fought in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was decorated with five campaign battle stars and the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. After the war, he was manager of Nelson Manufacturing Company of Bay City from 1946 to 1952, and was mayor of Bay City from 1949 to 1953. In 1950, Cederberg unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Roy O. Woodruff in the Republican Party primary election for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

in Michigan's 10th congressional district. Woodruff did not seek the nomination in 1952 and Cederberg won the Republican primary. He went on to win the general election to the 83rd Congress and was subsequently re-elected to the twelve succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1953, until his resignation December 31, 1978. Cederberg voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

. He became the ranking minority member of the

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Co ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1978 to the

96th Congress The 96th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1979 ...

, losing to Democrat Donald J. Albosta.

Personal life

After the end of his term in Congress, Cederberg lived in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

and was a consultant for

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, and

Grumman Aircraft The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1 ...

. He moved to Florida in the late 1990s. Cederberg died of heart and kidney ailments in

The Villages, Florida The Villages is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sumter, Marion, and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It forms the core of a broader master-planned, age-restricted community of the same name. Located in central Florida, approxi ...

at the age of 88 and was interred in Elm Lawn Cemetery of Bay City. He was survived by two children from his first marriage; Tom Cederberg and Marilyn Warner. His first marriage to Arlene Munro Cederberg (1916–2001) ended in divorce. His second wife, Marguerite Kletchka Cederberg, whom he married in 1958, died in March 2006.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-04-07
Political Graveyard
* * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cederberg, Elford Albin 1918 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Bay City, Michigan American people of Swedish descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Mayors of places in Michigan Businesspeople from Michigan People from The Villages, Florida United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Michigan United States Army officers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives