Matthew John Smith (born July 17, 1941) is an American politician and lawyer in the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Smith was born in Providence in 1941, the son of Irish immigrants. He earned a bachelor's (1962) and master's (1966) degrees at

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

. He worked as a professor and archivist at Providence College, and also co-authored a book on the history of Catholicism in Rhode Island. A Democrat, Smith was first elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in a special election held in June 1973. He served as Speaker of the House from 1980 to 1988, resigning his seat in 1988 upon being appointed as Clerk of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial No ...

and Rhode Island court administrator. In addition, Smith was a member of the boards of the St. Joseph Hospital Corporation and Blue Shield of Rhode Island. He is married to Claire Crepeau and has four children.

References

20th-century American legislators Living people Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Speakers of the Rhode Island House of Representatives 1941 births Providence College alumni Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island American people of Irish descent {{Rhode Island-politician-stub