Robert Selmer Bergland (July 22, 1928 – December 9, 2018) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. 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 entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from

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 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

's 7th congressional district 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.

Early life

Bergland was born near

Roseau, Minnesota Roseau () (pronounced row - so) is a city in, and the county seat of, Roseau County, Minnesota. Its population was 2,744 at the time of the 2020 census. History A post office called Roseau has been in operation since 1895. The city took its na ...

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

in a two-year program. A farmer, he became an official of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for the Department of Agriculture from 1963-68.

Career

U.S. Representative from Minnesota

Bergland was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1971 to 1977 as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, entering the House by defeating U.S. Republican incumbent

Odin Langen Odin Elsford Stanley Langen (January 5, 1913 – July 6, 1976) was an American politician from the state of Minnesota. He served six terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1971. Early life and career Odin Langen wa ...

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

as Secretary of Agriculture 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 the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

and the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

occurred during his tenure, resulting in the ironic dedication of the USDA executive cafeteria in honor of

Alferd Packer Alfred Griner Packer (January 21, 1842 – April 23, 1907), also known as "The Colorado Cannibal", was an American prospector and self-proclaimed professional wilderness guide who confessed to cannibalism during the winter of 1874. He and fi ...

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 The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) represents the interests of over 900 electric cooperatives in the United States. Cooperatives are not-for-profit and are owned by their membership. Founded in 1942, NRECA unites the count ...

. In the latter capacity, Bergland lobbied both Congress and the regulatory agencies on behalf of the

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

'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 decennia ...

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 20th-century American politicians 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 United States Secretaries of Agriculture University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences alumni