Horace A. Hildreth

Horace Augustus Hildreth (born December 2, 1902 in Gardiner , Maine , † June 2, 1988 in Portland , Maine) was an American politician and governor of the state of Maine from 1945 to 1949 .

Early years and political advancement

Horace Hildreth attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick until 1925 . He then studied law at Harvard University until 1928 . After graduating and admitted to the bar, he started working for a Boston law firm in his new profession. After returning to Maine, Hildreth also began a political career. Between 1940 and 1942 he was an MP in the Maine House of Representatives . From 1942 to 1944 he was State Senator and in 1944 even President of the Senate. That year he was elected as the Republican Party candidate for new governor. With 70.3 percent of the vote, he prevailed extremely clearly against the Democrat Paul Julien.

Governor of Maine

Hildreth took up his new office on January 3, 1945. After re-election in 1946, he was able to exercise it until January 5, 1949. At the beginning of his reign, World War II was still in full swing. After the end of the war in Maine, as in all states, industrial production had to be converted back to civilian needs. The returning soldiers had to be reintegrated into society and the invalids cared for. Otherwise, the governor advocated better financed education policy. The University of Maine funds in particular were increased for this purpose. The state's peat and coal industry was promoted and expanded. European farmers who had suffered World War I were also encouraged to move to Maine. Governor Hildreth was also temporarily chairman of the National Governors Association .

Another résumé

In 1948 Hildreth had unsuccessfully applied for a seat in the US Senate ; his party's nomination went to Margaret Chase Smith . Between 1949 and 1967 he was president of Bucknell University in Lewisburg ( Pennsylvania ). He was also the United States Ambassador to Pakistan from 1953 to 1957 . After his return, he reapplied for governorship in 1958, but was narrowly defeated by the Democrat Clinton Clauson ; one last candidacy failed in 1968 when he sought a seat in the US House of Representatives , but Peter N. Kyros had to bow.

In 1967 he became a partner in a radio station in Portland. He gave up this stake in 1974; then he withdrew into his private life. Hildreth died on June 2, 1988. He was married to Katherine Wing, with whom he had three children.

Web links

• Horace Hildreth in the National Governors Association (English)