JOHN H. REED

'John H. Reed' is an Aroostook County potato farmer and the 66^th governor of Maine. A Republican, Reed took office following the death of Governor Clinton Clauson.
Reed was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine in 1921. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1942. After graduating, he served in the United States Navy in World War II.
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 second in line for the governorship. Upon Clauson's death he was appointed governor and was elected to finish Clauson's term in 1960. He was narrowly reelected 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, who appointed him to the National Transportation Safety Board in 1966. After serving in that post, he was appointed by President Richard Nixon US ambassador to Sri Lanka and later the Maldives.