Background
Reed was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, in 1921.
ambassador Diplomat governor politician
Reed was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, in 1921.
He graduated from the University of Maine in 1942.
He was once an Aroostook County potato farmer. Reed was a Republican who took office following the death of Governor Clinton Clauson. He served in the United States Navy in World 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, United States 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.
Reed lived in Washington, District of Columbia, after his retirement. He died there on October 31, 2012.