EXHIBIT A.1

                            CERTIFICATE OF SECRETARY

     I, Dennis E. Prohofsky, hereby certify that I am the Secretary of The
Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company, Saint Paul, Minnesota; that I have
charge, custody and control of the record books and corporate seal of said
Company; that the following is a true and correct copy of a resolution adopted
by the Board of Trustees of said Company at a meeting held October 21, 1985, at
which meeting a quorum was present and acting throughout; and that the meeting
was duly called for the purpose of acting upon the subject matter described in
said resolution:

     "RESOLVED, That The Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company hereby
     establishes a separate account, Separate Account I, which shall be known as
     "Minnesota Mutual Variable Life Account," in accordance with subdivision 1
     of section 61A.14 of Minnesota Statutes 1967, as amended, for the purpose
     of issuing contracts on a variable basis;

     FURTHER RESOLVED, That MIMLIC Sales Corporation will be the principal
     underwriter of the variable life insurance contracts funded through the
     Minnesota Mutual Variable Life Account, and the variable life insurance
     contracts will be sold by licensed life insurance agents who are registered
     representatives of The Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company and MIMLIC
     Sales or other broker-dealers who have entered into selling agreements with
     MIMLIC Sales;

     FURTHER RESOLVED, That such separate account is to be registered as a unit
     investment trust pursuant to the provisions of the Investment Company Act
     of 1940, as amended, and that application be made for such exemptions from
     that Act as may be necessary or desirable;

     FURTHER RESOLVED, That there be prepared and filed with the Securities and
     Exchange Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act
     of 1933, as amended, registration statement and any amendments thereto,
     relating to such contracts on a variable basis as may be offered to the
     public;

     FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Executive Officer of the Company or such
     officer or officers as he may designate be, and they hereby are, authorized
     to seek such exemptive or other relief as may be necessary or appropriate
     in connection with the separate account or the offered contracts; and

     FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Executive Officer of the Company or such
     officer or officers as he may designate be, and they hereby are authorized
     and directed to take such further action as may in their judgment be
     necessary or desirable to implement the foregoing resolutions."

     I hereby certify that the above resolution has not been modified, amended
or rescinded and continues in full force and effect.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the corporate
seal of The Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company this 3rd day of November,
1997.



                                       ----------------------------------------
                                                Dennis E. Prohofsky
                                        Senior Vice President, General Counsel
                                                    & Secretary

(Seal)