Benjamin H. Read

Benjamin Huger Read (1925–1993) was United States Under Secretary of State for Management from 1978 to 1981.

Benjamin H. Read was born in Philadelphia on September 14, 1925. He was raised in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. During World War II, he served as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, seeing service in China and Guam. After the war, he was educated at Williams College, receiving a B.A. in 1949, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, receiving an LL.B. in 1952.

After law school, Read worked at a private law firm in Philadelphia from 1952 to 1955. He spent 1956-57 as an associate public defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia. He spent 1957-58 working as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State under Legal Adviser Loftus Becker. In 1958, Read became a legislative assistant to Sen. Joseph S. Clark (D—PA). In 1963, he became Executive Secretary for United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk. During the 1968 presidential campaign, Read worked with the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey.