Harry Hughes

Harry Hughes (1988)

Harry Roe Hughes (born November 13, 1926 in Easton , Talbot County , Maryland - † March 13, 2019 in Denton , Caroline County , Maryland) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ). He was governor of the state of Maryland from 1979 to 1987 .

Early years and political advancement

Hughes first attended elementary school in Caroline County and then the Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania . During the Second World War he served in the Air Corps of the US Navy. After the war, he continued his education at the University of Maryland until 1949 . After studying law at George Washington University , he was admitted to the bar in 1952. He then began to practice in Denton in his new profession.

Between 1955 and 1959 Hughes represented Caroline County in the Maryland House of Representatives and from 1959 to 1970 he was a member of the Maryland Senate . There he was parliamentary group leader of the Democratic Senators and chairman of the finance committee. He was then Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation from 1971 to 1977 . Since 1972 he has chaired a conference of all US state transportation ministers. In 1977 he resigned from this post after a dispute over the Baltimore subway construction . For the next two years he was a lawyer in Baltimore.

Governor of maryland

In 1978 Hughes was elected as the new governor of his state. He took office on January 17, 1979 and, after being re-elected in 1982, was able to remain in office until January 21, 1987. During this time he campaigned, among other things, for the interests of the Chesapeake Bay . At that time, a law was passed to protect this area from pollution and excessive hunting and fishing. Foreign trade with China was promoted during Hughes' tenure . Towards the end of his second term, Maryland was also hit by a financial crisis. However, it largely succeeded in securing the state's credit institutions.

Another résumé

After the end of his governorship, Hughes returned to practice as a lawyer. From 1995 to 2003 he was the curator of the Chesapeake Bay Trust Society. He was also from 1996 to 2000 on the board of the supervisory authority over the universities in Maryland (University System of Maryland) . Hughes was a member of several other organizations. In 2006 he published his autobiography. He had two children with his wife, Patricia Donoho.

Web links

Commons : Harry Hughes  - Collection of Images

• Harry Hughes in the National Governors Association (English)