Former Massachusetts House Majority Leader, State Senator William Q. MacLean Jr. has died
MacLean was also the House Majority Whip.
William Q. MacLean Jr. was a longtime influential political figure in Massachusetts. It was announced that he passed away on February 21, 2026.
After having served as a police officer, MacLean was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives as a Democrat for the first time in 1960. He rose to become the Majority Whip in 1973 and the Majority Leader in 1975.
MacLean continued as Majority Leader until 1978. Two years later, he won a seat in the Massachusetts Senate and kept it until his retirement in 1993.
A native of the Providence, Rhode Island suburb of New Bedford, Massachusetts, William Q. MacLean Jr. graduated from high school in nearby Fairhaven. There, he was voted as both President and Vice President by his class and was a standout in several different sports. MacLean won a Massachusetts state basketball title with his high school team in 1951 and later became its Captain. MacLean continued to play football at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before an injury ended his athletic career.