Francis Preston Blair Lee III (May 19, 1916 – October 25, 1985) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the Secretary of State of Maryland from 1969 to 1971. He was Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1971 to 1979 and served as the Acting Governor of Maryland from 1977 to 1979, during Marvin Mandel's self-imposed suspension of gubernatorial powers and duties. Early life, family and career Lee was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth S. (Wilson) and Colonel Edward Brooke Lee, the former Comptroller of the state of Maryland (chief financial officer). He was a member of the Lee family, a major historical political family in American history. He was grandson of the first popularly elected Maryland U.S. Senator, Blair Lee I; direct descendant of signer of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee and also Francis Preston Blair, an adviser and friend of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and Abraham Lincoln. Lee majored in American history at Princeton University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1938. His thesis, "The Free Soil Movement in the 1840s", was based on correspondences between his ancestors and Presidents, cabinet members, and others from his family's private collection. After spending time studying law at The George Washington University, the entry of the United States into World War II in 1941 resulted in Lee joining the United States Navy Reserve. He spent the War working on supply ships in the Atlantic Ocean. It was also during the War, on July 6, 1944, that he married Mathilde Boal with whom he would have eight children. After four years of service, Lee was discharged with the rank of lieutenant commander in 1945. After the War, Lee began work as a newspaper journalist. He worked as an editor for his father's newspaper, the Maryland News, and also served as President of the Maryland Press Association and Silver Spring Board of Trade in 1949. Lee also pursued environmental interests in government, serving as Vice Chairman and Park Commissioner of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) until 1951, and Executive Officer of the National Capital Planning Commission from 1951 to 1954. Maryland political career Lee entered politics shortly after the end of the Second World War, serving as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1948, and later in 1960 and 1964. He was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in