Here’s why flags are flying at half-staff in North Carolina this week

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor former vice president Walter Mondale, who died this week at age 93.

The order calls for lowering U.S. and N.C. flags at state buildings, and officials have also urged businesses, schools and other entities to follow suit.

Mondale served in the U.S. Army before he became the Minnesota attorney general and a U.S. senator. He later became vice president under Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 and an ambassador to Japan.

He ran as a Democratic nominee for president in 1984, becoming the first from a major party to have a woman vice presidential candidate on his ticket. He lost to Ronald Reagan on Election Day.

Mondale is remembered for his role in a U.S. Supreme Court case that established the right to legal representation for those who couldn’t hire attorneys and for helping to pass laws to fight against racial discrimination in housing and environmental issues, the White House said in a proclamation after his death.

Flags are usually flown at half-staff at times when “the whole nation is in mourning,” as declared by federal or state officials, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In North Carolina, officials said further information will be shared after burial plans for Mondale are revealed.

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