Mondale was vice president under Jimmy Carter between 1977 and 1981.
He was also the Democrats' candidate in the 1984 election, which he lost heavily to Ronald Reagan.
But Mondale still made history, choosing Geraldine Ferraro as her running mate in the election, the first woman among the major parties.
According to The New York Times, Mondale was the first vice president to be a genuine partner of the president, including full access to all intelligence briefings.
He described himself politically as liberal or progressive in an interview with the newspaper 2010.
- I did not use the word "liberal" very much, because I thought it was too much of a burden.
But all my life I have worked on the idea that the government can be a tool for the development of society, he said.
Mondale died at his home in Minneapolis, aged 93.
What caused the death has not been stated.