Edward J. King

Edward Joseph King (May 11, 1925 in Chelsea, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, † 18 September 2006 in Burlington, Massachusetts ) was an American politician and from 1979 to 1983 Governor of Massachusetts.

Early years and career

Edward King attended Boston College, where he studied law among others. He then studied at Bentley College, the subjects Accounting and Finance. Between 1948 and 1953, King was a professional football player for the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Colts. In 1953 he joined the firm Lybrand, Ross Bros & Montgomery. In 1956 he became deputy director of the Museum of Science in Boston and 1959-1974 he worked in various positions in the port administration authority of the State of Massachusetts.

Political career

King was a member of the Democratic Party, but resigned to his election as governor of Massachusetts in 1978 politically hardly appear. He was able to prevail in the Democratic primary against incumbent Michael Dukakis. King began his four -year term on January 4, 1979. During his tenure, the spending on social programs have been cut and exposed to the property tax. The governor promoted the interests of trade and agriculture, fighting crime in his state. To this end, he wanted to introduce the death penalty in Massachusetts again. However, this was rejected by the Supreme Court of the State as unconstitutional. Governor Kings settings were more conservative over time. The also conservative President Ronald Reagan declared him to his view best Democratic governor of that time. In the gubernatorial election of 1982, King was defeated Dukakis, who thus not only his predecessor, but also his successor.

Further CV

In the presidential elections of 1984, King supported the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the candidate of the Republican Party, to which he resigned a year later. In 1986 he was considering for a short time to run for his new party again as governor. But this plan he dropped. With his wife Josephine died in 1995, Governor King had two sons.