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Military Service: Navy

War(s) Served:  World War II

HARRY R. HUGHES was born in Easton, Maryland, in 1926. In 1949, he graduated from the University of Maryland and in 1952, he graduated from George Washington University Law School. Following his graduation, he practiced law in Denton, Maryland. Three years later, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served from 1955 to 1958. In 1958, he was elected to the Maryland senate, where he served unitll 1970. During his tenure as senator, he was the majority floor leader and chair of the Finance Committee. From 1969 to 1970, he chaired the Maryland State Democratic Party. In 1971, he was appointed the first secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation. He resigned in 1977 and became a partner in a law firm in Baltimore. From 1972 to 1976, he served as chair of the Nationwide Conference of State Department of Transportation Executives. He was elected governor in 1978 and reelected in 1982. After leaving public office, Hughes practiced law in Baltimore and chaired the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and the Appellate Court Nominating Commission for the State of Maryland. Hughes also served as president of the Maryland Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc.

Sources:

Eisenberg, Gerson G. Marylanders Who Served the Nation. Annapolis, MD: Maryland State Archives, 1992.

Hughes, Harry Roe. My Unexpected Journey. Charleston, S.C.: History Press, 2006.

State Archives of the State of Maryland. Maryland Manual 1985-1986. Glen Burnie, MD: Optic Graphics, Inc., 1985.

Maryland State Archives