John Reed | |
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![]() 1982, on right
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Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives | |
In office February 22, 1982 – September 3, 1985 |
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President | Ronald Reagan |
Preceded by | Donald Toussaint |
Succeeded by | James Spain |
In office August 23, 1976 – June 1, 1977 |
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President | Richard Nixon |
Preceded by | Chris Van Hollen, Sr. |
Succeeded by | Howard Wriggins |
Chairperson of the National Governors Association | |
In office July 29, 1965 – July 7, 1966 |
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Preceded by | Grant Sawyer |
Succeeded by | William Guy |
67th Governor of Maine | |
In office December 30, 1959 – January 5, 1967 |
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Preceded by | Clinton Clauson |
Succeeded by | Kenneth Curtis |
Member of the Maine Senate | |
In office 1956–1959 |
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Member of the Maine House of Representatives | |
In office 1954–1956 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Fort Fairfield, Maine, U.S. |
January 5, 1921
Died | October 31, 2012 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
(aged 91)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Cora Davison |
Alma mater |
University of Maine, Orono Navy Supply Corps School |
John Hathaway Reed (January 5, 1921 – October 31, 2012) was the 67th Governor of Maine. He was once an Aroostook County potato farmer. Reed was a Republican who took office following the death of Governor Clinton Clauson.
Reed was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, in 1921. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1942. He served in the United States Navy in World War II, first graduating from Harvard's Navy Supply Corps School in 1944.
After coming home, he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1954. He served one term before being elected to the Maine Senate. At the start of his second senate term, he was elected Senate President, an office which in Maine is first in line for the governorship. Upon Clauson's death, Reed became governor and was the fourth Governor Maine had in 1959, after Clauson, Robert Haskell, and Edmund Muskie. He was then elected over Democrat Frank M. Coffin to finish Clauson's term in 1960. He was narrowly reelected over Democrat Maynard C. Dolloff in 1962 to serve Maine's first 4-year term as governor. In 1966, he was defeated by Democrat Ken Curtis.
Reed was a strong supporter of the Vietnam War and was close to President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, who appointed him to the National Transportation Safety Board in 1966. After serving in that post, he was appointed by President Richard Nixon, a Republican, US ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives (shared country accreditation by ambassador). Reed was appointed ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives a second time by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, in 1981.