Peter Kyros, c. 1968
Peter Kyros (1925-2012 ) a U.S. Representative was born in Portland on July 11, 1925. He attended the public schools in Portland and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1947, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1957.
Kyros father also had served in the U.S. Navy, followed by attending law school.
Peter Kyros served in the United States Navy, 1944-1953 and was discharged with rank of lieutenant. He was admitted to the bar in 1957 and began the practice of law in Portland, serving from 1957 to 1959 as counsel to the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
He work on several campaigns for Democratic Party candidates, including those of Edmund S. Muskie.
Elected as a Democrat to the Ninetieth and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1967-January 3, 1975), he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1974. Kyros served in the United States Department of State, 1980-1982 then resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C.
During his congressional tenure, he successfully championed extending the Unites States territorial waters to 200 miles, in large part to protect Maine fisheries from foreign, mostly Russian, factory ships. These were seen to be responsible for potential depletion of fish stocks and a danger to Maine’s economy.
Photo courtesy Courtesy of Maine State Archives.
Additional resources
Peter Kyros Congressional biography: https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=k000356 (accessed December 26, 2020)
L’Hommedieu, Andrea. “Interview with Peter N. Kyros, Jr.” June 14, 1999. http://digilib.bates.edu/collect/muskieor/index/assoc/HASHe6e7.dir/doc.pdf (accessed January 3, 2012)
Mills, Paul. “Peter Kyros and the 200-mile limit.” Sun Journal. September 19, 2010. http://www.sunjournal.com/guest-columns/story/911080. (accessed January 3, 2012)
“Peter Kyros.” Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership. http://www.stennis.gov/news/congressional-bios/148-peter-kyros (accessed January 3, 2012)
Ralph Nader Congress Project. Citizens look at Congress. Peter N. Kyros, Democratic Representative from Maine. Written by Barbara R. Schecter. Washington, D. C. Grossman. 1972. [University of Maine at Farmington. Mantor Library.]