Former U.S. Vice President Mondale recovering after heart surgery

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Walter "Fritz" Mondale underwent heart surgery on Wednesday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, his family said in a statement. Mondale, 86, who served as vice president in the Carter administration and as U.S. ambassador to Japan for the Clinton administration, underwent surgery less than a week after attending a memorial service for his wife of 58 years, Joan Mondale, who died on February 3. "He is resting comfortably and is expected to make a full recovery," the statement said. "His family requests privacy at this time." Mondale, a liberal Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate before becoming vice president, lost the 1984 presidential election in a landslide to President Ronald Reagan. (Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Ken Wills)