George Keverian (June 3, 1931 – March 6, 2009) was an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who served as the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1985 until 1991. In his role in the legislature, he was an advocate for greater openness in leadership, free speech and government reform.

Early life and education

George Keverian was born in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Everett was the last city in the Un ...

, located in Middlesex County, near

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Keverian was the son of Armenian parents who immigrated to America from Turkey before 1915; his mother was a dressmaker and his father ran a shoe repair business. Keverian attended Everett High School where he was a champion runner the valedictorian of the class of 1949. Keverian attended

Tufts College Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

for two years before transferring to

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

.Staff
"Former Mass. Speaker Keverian Dies"
, ''

WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue int ...

'', March 6, 2009. Accessed March 6, 2009. Keverian graduated from Harvard in 1953.

Early political career

He was elected to the City of Everett Common Council in 1954 at the age of 21, shortly after his graduation from Harvard. Running for three seats in a field of three dozen, Keverian used a high-speed motion picture camera suggested by his brother that could capture still images of each house in the ward. He sent an individualized flier to each house with a photo of their own home and a message about the attention he would offer the neighborhood. He served on the Common Council until 1961, serving as President of the Common Council from 1960 to 1961.

Massachusetts House of Representatives

In 1966, Keverian was elected to represent the 20th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. From 1975 to 1978 Keverian was the House Majority Whip, the number three leadership position in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In 1978 Keverian was chosen to be the House Majority Leader, the number two leadership position in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Serving in the

, he won the position as Speaker of the House from fellow Democrat Thomas W. McGee in January 1985, bringing reformers in the legislature to back his candidacy. Though he was able to bring greater openness, he had difficulties as a leader and in pushing through legislation. He left the post, and state politics, in 1991, after losing the Democratic party primary for

Massachusetts State Treasurer The Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts (commonly called the "treasurer") is an executive officer, elected statewide every four years. The Treasurer oversees the Office of Abandoned Property, escheated accounts, the State Retirement ...

Later life

He returned to Everett, where he was appointed as the city's chief assessor in 1995. He lost the position in 2007, with Keverian claiming that he had lost the post due to conflicts with the city's mayor; the mayor stated that the position had been eliminated. Weighing as much as 400 pounds by 2002, Keverian blamed his place in the public eye for his weight problems, telling a 2003 forum on obesity at the

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first ...

that "People can be very, very cruel, even when they're not trying to be" and that "Having all that publicity and public acceptance worked against me". He was able to bring his weight down to 260 pounds following

gastric bypass surgery Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several differ ...

in 2002. The George Keverian School in Everett, Massachusetts is named after him. Keverian had been scheduled to read a

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' 1967–1968 Massachusetts legislature The 165th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1967 and 1968 during the governorship of John Volpe. Maurice A. Donahue served as president of the Senate and R ...

1969–1970 Massachusetts legislature The 166th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1969 and 1970 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Francis Sargent. Maurice A. Donahue served as ...

1971–1972 Massachusetts legislature The 167th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1971 and 1972 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Francis Sargent. Kevin B. Harrington served a ...

1973–1974 Massachusetts legislature The 168th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1973 and 1974 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Francis Sargent. Kevin B. Harrington served a ...

1975–1976 Massachusetts legislature The 169th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1975 and 1976 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. Kevin B. Harrington served as president of the Senate ...

1977–1978 Massachusetts legislature The 170th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1977 and 1978 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. Kevin B. Harrington served as president of the Senate ...

1979–1980 Massachusetts legislature The 171st Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1979 and 1980 during the governorship of Edward J. King. William Bulger served as president of the Senate and T ...

1981–1982 Massachusetts legislature The 172nd Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1981 and 1982 during the Governor of Massachusetts, governorship of Edward J. King. William Bulger served as Pres ...

1983–1984 Massachusetts legislature The 173rd Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1983 and 1984 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as president of the Senate and ...

1985–1986 Massachusetts legislature The 174th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1985 and 1986 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as president of the Senate and G ...

1987–1988 Massachusetts legislature The 175th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1987 and 1988 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as president of the Senate and Ge ...

1989–1990 Massachusetts legislature The 176th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1989 and 1990 during the governorship of Michael Dukakis. William Bulger served as president of the Senate and G ...

References

Bibliography

*Heslam, Jessica.: The Boston Herald, ''Longtime pol George Keverian found dead Former House speaker, fondly remembered by colleagues, friends, was 77'', (March 7, 2009). *O'Neill, Edward B.: ''Public officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts'', page 83, (1985). *O'Neill, Edward B.: ''Public officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts'', page 164, (1983). {{DEFAULTSORT:Keverian, George Harvard Law School alumni American people of Armenian descent Politicians from Everett, Massachusetts Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Tufts University alumni 1931 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American politicians Harvard College alumni Ethnic Armenian politicians