John A. Volpe

John Volpe
Volpe in 1970
United States Ambassador to Italy
In office March 6, 1973 – January 24, 1977
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Graham Martin
Succeeded by	Richard N. Gardner
2nd United States Secretary of Transportation
In office January 22, 1969 – February 2, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Alan Boyd
Succeeded by	Claude Brinegar
Chair of the National Governors Association
In office October 16, 1967 – July 21, 1968
Preceded by	William L. Guy
Succeeded by	Buford Ellington
61st and 63rd Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 7, 1965 – January 22, 1969
Lieutenant	Elliot Richardson Francis Sargent
Preceded by	Endicott Peabody
Succeeded by	Francis Sargent
In office January 5, 1961 – January 3, 1963
Lieutenant	Edward F. McLaughlin Jr.
Preceded by	Foster Furcolo
Succeeded by	Endicott Peabody
Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration Acting
In office October 22, 1956 – February 5, 1957
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Charles Dwight Curtiss
Succeeded by	Bertram D. Tallamy
Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Works
In office February 1953 – October 22, 1956
Governor	Christian Herter
Preceded by	William F. Callahan
Succeeded by	Carl A. Sheridan
Personal details
Born	John Anthony Volpe (1908-12-08)December 8, 1908 Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	November 11, 1994(1994-11-11) (aged 85) Nahant, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Giovannina Benedetto ​ ​ (m. 1934)​
Children	2
Education	Wentworth Institute of Technology (BS)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Lieutenant Commander
Unit	Seabees
Battles/wars	World War II

John Anthony Volpe (/ˈvoʊlpi/ VOHL-pee; December 8, 1908 – November 11, 1994) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician from Massachusetts. A son of Italian immigrants, he founded and owned a large construction firm. Politically, he was a Republican in increasingly Democratic Massachusetts, serving as its 61st and 63rd Governor from 1961 to 1963 and 1965 to 1969, as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 1969 to 1973, and as the United States Ambassador to Italy from 1973 to 1977.^[1] As Secretary of Transportation, Volpe was an important figure in the development of the Interstate Highway System at the federal level.