Francis Bellotti

Francis Bellotti
Bellotti in the 1960s
39th Attorney General of Massachusetts
In office January 2, 1975 – January 3, 1987
Governor	Michael Dukakis Edward J. King
Preceded by	Robert H. Quinn
Succeeded by	James Shannon
61st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 3, 1963 – January 7, 1965
Governor	Endicott Peabody
Preceded by	Edward F. McLaughlin Jr.
Succeeded by	Elliot Richardson
Personal details
Born	Francis Xavier Bellotti (1923-05-03) May 3, 1923 (age 101) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Margarita E. Wang ​ ​ (m. 1949; died 2022)​ [1]
Children	12, including Michael G.
Education	Tufts University (BA) Boston College (JD)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Rank	Lieutenant (junior grade)
Battles/wars	World War II

Francis Xavier Bellotti (born May 3, 1923) is an American lawyer and politician who served as both the 39th attorney general and the 61st lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.

Bellotti was born in Boston, Massachusetts.^[2][3] He graduated from Tufts University in 1947 and received his J.D. degree from Boston College in 1952. He served in the United States Navy during World War II reaching the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade).^[4]

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In his first campaign for public office, Bellotti was the Democratic nominee for district attorney of Norfolk County in 1958, but was defeated in the general election.^[5] In 1962, Bellotti was elected as Lieutenant Governor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1963 to 1965.

In 1964, he had challenged the sitting governor of his own party, Endicott Peabody, and defeated Peabody in the Democratic primary. However, he went on to lose the general election to John A. Volpe, with Volpe regaining the seat that he had lost two years earlier. In 1966, Bellotti was the Democratic nominee for Massachusetts attorney general, but was defeated by Republican Elliot Richardson.^[6] Being subsequently elected to that position in 1974, from 1975 until 1987 Bellotti served three terms as attorney general. In that capacity, he instilled professionalism among his staff, was a leader for civil rights and served as President of the National Association of Attorneys General. He sought the nomination of the Democratic party for governor in 1970 and in 1990, but was defeated in the Democratic primary election in both elections losing to Kevin White and John Silber respectively.

In his official capacity for the state, he was the named party in the commercial speech case: First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765 (1978), which established that corporations have some free speech rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[7]

After leaving office, Bellotti has practiced law in Boston with the firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, the district courthouse in Quincy, Massachusetts, was named in his honor.^[8]

He is currently the Vice Chairman of Arbella Insurance Group.^[9]

He turned 100 on May 3, 2023.^[10][11]

He is the father of twelve children, including Norfolk County Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti.^{[citation needed]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francis X. Bellotti.

• Vitale, Peter (June 24, 2011). "Francis X. Bellotti, Three-Term Massachusetts Attorney General: A Political Machine Rebel". Post-Gazette. pp. 10–11.
• Mintz, Levin biography
• Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory profile
• Getty Images