Blair Lee III.

Blair Lee III. (Born May 19, 1916 in Silver Spring , Maryland ; † October 25, 1985 ibid) was an American politician and acting governor of the state of Maryland from 1977 to 1979 .

family

Blair Lee came from the prominent Lee family from Virginia , which also included Robert Edward Lee . His grandfather, Francis Preston Blair Lee, was a US Senator from Maryland between 1914 and 1917 , and his great-grandfather, Samuel Phillips Lee, served as a Rear Admiral in the US Navy . Two of his direct ancestors, Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee , were among the signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence .

Early years and political advancement

Lee studied American history at Princeton University until 1938 . After completing a law degree at George Washington University , he entered the US Navy. He served in their reserve during World War II . There he was on board ships that transported supplies across the Atlantic.

After the war, Lee got involved in his father's newspaper business. He became editor of the weekly Maryland News. In 1949 he was president of the Maryland Press Association . In the same year he became vice-chairman of a commission that dealt with the parks in Maryland ( Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission ). He held this office until 1951. From 1965 to 1966 he was again a member of this commission. Between 1951 and 1954 he was an executive officer of a federal organization dealing with the development of the Washington, DC area ( National Capital Planning Commission ).

He served in the Maryland House of Representatives from 1954 to 1962 . In 1962 he unsuccessfully applied for a seat in the US Senate as a Democrat . In 1960 he supported the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy as his campaign manager in Montgomery County . Four years later he fought for Kennedy's successor Lyndon B. Johnson . In 1966 he was elected to the Maryland Senate. In 1969 he became Secretary of State of Maryland.

Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor of Maryland

After a constitutional reform, the post of lieutenant governor , abolished in 1868, was reinstated in Maryland in 1970 . Blair Lee was elected as his party's candidate for the first incumbent under the new constitution and was re-elected in 1974. He was the representative of Governor Marvin Mandel . As lieutenant governor, he was a member of several government committees. He was head of the cabinet and chief of staff of the governor. He was also involved in budget planning. In the summer of 1977, Governor Mandel came under suspicion of corruption. In a letter dated June 4, 1977, he gave his lieutenant governor the authority to prepare for his trial. Almond also struggled with health problems. Since Mandel expressly did not resign, Lee was only acting governor. He held this office until January 15, 1979. On that day, Mandel took over the office of governor again, if only for two days until the official end of his term of office.

Lee's tenure was overshadowed by the turmoil surrounding his predecessor, who was charged with corruption and bribery and later convicted. His attempt to run himself for election for governor in 1978 failed in his party's primary election. Many Maryland citizens accused him of not having distanced themselves enough from Mandel and his also scandalous predecessor Spiro Agnew .

Another résumé

After his tenure ended, Blair Lee became a member of the University of Maryland's board of directors . He held this post until his death in 1985. Lee and his wife Mathilde Boal had eight children.

Web links

• Blair Lee in the National Governors Association (English)
• Maryland State Archives (English)
• Blair Lee III. in the database from Find a Grave (English)
• Blair Lee in nndb (English)