Severin Beliveau (born March 15, 1938) is an American attorney, political activist and lobbyist in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Political career

Beliveau was elected to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

in 1966 after graduating from

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

and was influential in the rise of the

Maine Democratic Party The Maine Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Maine. After the Civil War, Democrats were a minor player in a political scene dominated by the Republican Party. However, during the 1950s, Edmund Muskie l ...

in state politics after a century of Republican dominance. He later served in the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

and, in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor. Considered a moderate Democrat, Beliveau lost to the more liberal

Maine Attorney General The Maine Attorney General is the chief legal advisor and prosecutor of the State of Maine. The constitutional basis of the office is Article IX, Section 11 of the Maine Constitution, and the holder of the position is chosen biennially by the Maine ...

James Tierney. 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. In December 2011, Beliveau was ranked as the 12th most influential person in Maine politics.

Family and education

Beliveau was born on March 15, 1938, in

Rumford, Maine Rumford is a New England town, town in Oxford County, Maine, Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,858 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Rumford is home to both ND Paper Inc's Rumford Mill and the Black Mountain ...

. His Irish mother was Margaret McCarthy and his Franco-American father, Albert J. Beliveau, Sr., 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. At the age of 16, Beliveau went to study at St. John's Preparatory School in

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...

. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1960 and a J.D. in 1963 from

. His wife, Cynthia (''née'' Murray) Beliveau, was born in 1947 in Bangor, Maine. They have four sons. Beliveau's father, Albert Beliveau, and Cynthia's great uncle, Edward P. Murray, served together on the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

. They were introduced by her brother, Frank Murray.

References

1938 births Living people People from Rumford, Maine Georgetown University Law Center alumni Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Democratic Party Maine state senators Maine Democratic Party chairs {{Maine-politician-stub