American politician
Severin Beliveau
(born March 15, 1938) is an American attorney, political activist and lobbyist in
Maine
.
Political career
[
edit
]
Beliveau was elected to the
Maine House of Representatives
in 1966 after graduating from
Georgetown University Law Center
and was influential in the rise of the
Maine Democratic Party
in state politics after a century of Republican dominance. He later served in the
Maine Senate
and, in
1986
, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor. Considered a moderate Democrat, Beliveau lost to the more liberal
Maine Attorney General
James Tierney
.
[1]
He is a founding partner at Preti Flaherty, a major law firm in Maine. He was chair of the Maine Democratic Party in the late 1960s.
[1]
In December 2011, Beliveau was ranked as the 12th most influential person in Maine politics.
[2]
Family and education
[
edit
]
Beliveau was born on March 15, 1938, in
Rumford, Maine
. His Irish mother was Margaret McCarthy and his Franco-American father, Albert J. Beliveau, Sr.,
[3]
was a justice of the Maine Supreme Court. His maternal grandfather, Matthew McCarthy, was the first municipal court judge in Rumford and his uncle, William E. McCarthy, was a Superior Court judge. Beliveau's brother, Albert J. Beliveau, Jr., was Oxford County Judge of Probate.
[4]
At the age of 16, Beliveau went to study at
St. John's Preparatory School
in
Danvers, Massachusetts
.
[5]
He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Georgetown University
in 1960 and a J.D. in 1963 from
Georgetown University Law Center
.
[4]
His wife, Cynthia (
nee
Murray) Beliveau, was born in 1947 in Bangor, Maine. They have four sons.
[3]
Beliveau's father,
Albert Beliveau
, and Cynthia's great uncle,
Edward P. Murray
, served together on the
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
.
[6]
They were introduced by her brother,
Frank Murray
.
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
L'Hommedieu, Andrew (September 2, 1999).
"Interview with Severin Beliveau"
. Bates College Muskie Oral History Project
. Retrieved
December 24,
2013
.
- ^
Gagnon, Matt (December 29, 2011).
"The 25 Most Influential People In Maine Politics"
.
Bangor Daily News
. Retrieved
December 24,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
L'Heureux, Juliana (December 15, 2010).
"Cynthia Murray-Beliveau receives Claddagh Award"
. Portland Press Herald
. Retrieved
January 9,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Biography: Severin M. Beliveau"
. Preti Flaherty
. Retrieved
January 9,
2016
.
- ^
Hastings, Mike (September 5, 2008).
"Interview with Severin Beliveau"
. Bowdoin College, George J. Mitchell Oral History Project
. Retrieved
December 24,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
L'Hommedieu, Andrea (November 3, 2000).
"Murray, Frank oral history interview"
. Bates College, SCARAB, Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Collection Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library
. Retrieved
May 29,
2019
.