Blair Lee, III
| Blair Lee III | |
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Governor of Maryland Acting |
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In office June 4, 1977 – January 15, 1979 while Marvin Mandel was Governor |
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| 2nd Lieutenant Governor of Maryland | |
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In office January 20, 1971 – January 17, 1979 |
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| Governor | Marvin Mandel |
| Preceded by | Office reinstated Christopher C. Cox in 1868 |
| Succeeded by | Samuel W. Bogley |
| 60th Secretary of State of Maryland | |
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In office January 7, 1969 – January 20, 1971 |
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| Governor | Marvin Mandel |
| Preceded by | C. Stanley Blair |
| Succeeded by | Fred L. Wineland |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates | |
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In office 1954–1962 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Francis Preston Blair III May 19, 1916 Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | October 25, 1985 (aged 69) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Mathilde B. "Mimi" Lee |
| Alma mater |
Princeton University George Washington University |
| Profession | Statesman |
Francis Preston Blair Lee III (May 19, 1916 – October 25, 1985), popularly known as Blair Lee III, was an American Democratic politician. He served as the Secretary of State of Maryland from 1969 to 1971. He was the second ever Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1971 to 1979, and the first to hold that office in over a century, and served as the Acting Governor of Maryland from 1977 to 1979, during Marvin Mandel's self-imposed suspension of gubernatorial powers and duties.
Lee was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth S. (Wilson) and Colonel Edward Brooke Lee, the former Comptroller of the state of Maryland (chief financial officer). He was a member of the Lee family, a major historical political family in American history. He was grandson of the first popularly elected Maryland U.S. Senator, Blair Lee I; direct descendant of signer of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee and also Francis Preston Blair, an adviser and friend of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and Abraham Lincoln. His father, E. Brooke Lee, was a major figure in Maryland politics.
Lee majored in American history at Princeton University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1938. His thesis, "The Free Soil Movement in the 1840s", was based on correspondences between his ancestors and Presidents, cabinet members, and others from his family's private collection. After spending time studying law at The George Washington University, the entry of the United States into World War II in 1941 resulted in Lee joining the United States Navy Reserve. He spent the War working on supply ships in the Atlantic Ocean. It was also during the War, on July 6, 1944, that he married Mathilde Boal with whom he would have eight children. After four years of service, Lee was discharged with the rank of lieutenant commander in 1945.
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