Arthur Naftalin

Who was Arthur Naftalin?

Arthur Naftalin was an American political scientist and politician. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota from July 3, 1961, to July 6, 1969. He was the city's only Jewish mayor.

Naftalin was born in Fargo, North Dakota, one of four children of Sandel and Tillie Naftalin. He was married to Frances Healy Naftalin; among their children is Mark Naftalin, a musician.

Naftalin came to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939 and a Ph.D. in 1948. His dissertation was a history of the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota. During this time, he became acquainted with Hubert Humphrey and helped Humphrey lead the merger of Minnesota'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 University of Minnesota. He served as commissioner of administration under Governor Orville L. Freeman.

In 1961, he won the first of his four two-year terms as mayor.