Robert Selmer Bergland (July 22, 1928 – December 9, 2018) was an American politician. He served as a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from

Minnesota's 7th congressional district Minnesota's 7th congressional district covers the majority of western Minnesota. It is by far the state's largest district, and has a very rural character. Except for a few southern counties in the Minnesota's 1st congressional district, 1st ...

from 1971 to 1977, and he served as

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organi ...

from 1977 until 1981, during the

Carter administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

Early life

Bergland was born near

Roseau, Minnesota Roseau () is a city in and the county seat of Roseau County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 2,744 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Roseau has been in operation since 1895. The city took its name from the nearby ...

, the son of Mabel (Evans) and Selmer Bennett Bergland, a garage mechanic. He studied agriculture at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in a two-year program. A farmer, he became an official of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

from 1963 to 1968.

Career

U.S. Representative from Minnesota

Bergland was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from 1971 to 1977 as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, entering the House by defeating U.S. Republican incumbent Odin Langen in 1970. He was elected to the 92nd, 93rd, 94th, and 95th Congresses. In Congress, he served on the House Committee on Agriculture's subcommittees for Conservation and Credit, and Livestock, Grains, Dairy, and Poultry.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

On January 22, 1977, Bergland resigned from the House shortly after the beginning of a new term, and was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

and served from January 23, 1977, until January 20, 1981. A minor but much-celebrated struggle between the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

and the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

occurred during his tenure, resulting in the ironic dedication of the USDA executive cafeteria in honor of Alferd Packer in order to shame the General Services Administration into terminating the Nixon-era cafeteria services contract.

Post-Agricultural career

Following the end of the Carter administration in 1981, Bergland became the chairman of Farmland World Trade until 1982, when he became the vice president and general manager of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. In the latter capacity, Bergland lobbied both Congress and the regulatory agencies on behalf of the

Cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

's electricity business. After retiring in 1994, Bergland was elected by the

Minnesota State Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenni ...

to a term on the

Board of Regents. Bergland retired after the one term and owned a farm in Minnesota.

Personal life

He married Helen Elaine Grahn in 1950. They had seven children. Bergland died on December 9, 2018, at a nursing home in Roseau at the age of 90.Robert S. "Bob" Bergland - obituary
Helgeson Funeral Home.

References

External links

Bob Bergland Papers
including extensive records of his congressional service, are available for research use at th
Minnesota Historical Society.Robert Selmer Bergland Collection
- National Agricultural Library, includes pressing clippings and a photograph album. * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergland, Robert 1928 births 2018 deaths American people of Norwegian descent Carter administration cabinet members American cooperative organizers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota Farmers from Minnesota People from Roseau, Minnesota Secretaries of agriculture of the United States University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives