14 Facts About Harry Hughes

Harry Roe Hughes was an American politician from the Democratic Party who served as the 57th Governor of Maryland from 1979 to 1987.

Harry Hughes attended Caroline County, Maryland, public schools before attending the Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.

Harry Hughes received his Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School in 1952 and was admitted to the Maryland Bar the same year.

Harry Hughes married his wife, Patricia Donoho Harry Hughes, on June 30,1951.

Patricia Harry Hughes died on January 20,2010, in Denton at the age of 79.

From 1966 to 1970, Harry Hughes was the chairman of Maryland Democratic State Central Committee.

Harry Hughes began his political career as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1955 to 1959, representing Caroline County.

Harry Hughes was elected a member of the Maryland Senate in 1958 and served until 1970 for district 15, representing Caroline, Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot counties.

In 1971, Harry Hughes was offered and accepted the position of Secretary of Transportation for the state.

In May 1977 Harry Hughes resigned from his position because of a disagreement in the State Department of Transportation regarding the award of a construction contract for a subway in Baltimore.

Harry Hughes was elected governor in 1978 after defeating Lieutenant Governor Blair Lee III in the Democratic primary election, and Republican John Glenn Beall, Jr.

Harry Hughes signed into law such legislation as that approving the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, which set into motion efforts to restore the Bay and recover from excessive fishing.

Harry Hughes was a member of the Chesapeake Bay Trust from 1995 to 2003; a member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland from 1996 to 2000; the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Citizens Pfiesteria Commission in 1997; the chairman of the Maryland Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission from 1999 to 2003; and a member of the committee to Establish the Maryland Survivors Scholarship Fund from 2001 to 2002.

Harry Hughes was a member of the Advisory Committee for the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy's board of directors.