Aníbal Meléndez Rivera (February 11, 1948 – December 19, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as mayor of

Fajardo Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...

from 1989 to 2020.

Early years and studies

Aníbal Meléndez Rivera was born on November 11, 1948, in Naguabo,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. His parents were Luis Meléndez and Angélica Rivera. He grew up in Daguao, a

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

of Naguabo. He graduated from the Rafael Rocca High School of Naguabo. In 1965, Meléndez enrolled at the

University of Puerto Rico at Humacao The University of Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus (UPRH or UPR-Humacao) is a public college in Humacao, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico. Its campus is home to the UPRH Astronomical Observatory and the college graduates more m ...

. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1969, and then completed a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in business administration.

Sports career

Since his youth, Meléndez distinguished himself as an athlete, specifically in baseball and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. He played Class A and Double AA baseball, the latter with Cataño. In later years, he was involved with the

Cariduros de Fajardo Cariduros de Fajardo is a professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional founded in 1973. Based in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, the team plays at the Tomás Dones Coliseum. History The team was founded in 1973 and participated in th ...

team in the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

league, serving as

sports commentator In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

for 18 years, and also as owner of the team.

Professional career

Meléndez worked as a college professor at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico Fajardo Campus, with the Business Administration faculty. He also occupied several administrative positions with the Government of Puerto Rico.

Political career

Meléndez was first elected as mayor of

at the 1988 general elections. After that, he was then reelected on seven consecutive terms (

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

). He was also once the President of the Puerto Rico Mayors Federation. During the 2008 elections, Meléndez received more than 70% of the votes. His margin of victory was the second largest, after

Aníbal Vega Borges Aníbal Vega Borges is a Puerto Rican politician and was mayor of Toa Baja until June 30, 2016. He also served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005. Early life and education He completed his secondary educ ...

Toa Baja Toa Baja (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamón; east of Dorado; and west of Cataño. Toa Baja is spread over five barrios, including Toa Baja Pueblo (the downtown area and ...

. Aníbal Meléndez Rivera presented his resignation as Mayor of Fajardo after 31 years in office effective February 19, 2020.

Personal life and death

Meléndez met his future wife, Diana Méndez, while in college. They had three children together: Grace, Diana, and José Aníbal. The latter served as

Sergeant at Arms Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senat ...

until resigning March 2011 due to a positive drug test result. He suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. Meléndez died peacefully at his home in Fajardo, on December 19, 2021, at the age of 73. He was buried at the Old Fajardo Municipal Cemetery.

References

External links

on FajardoPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez Rivera, Anibal 1948 births 2021 deaths Deaths from Parkinson's disease People from Fajardo, Puerto Rico People from Naguabo, Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Mayors of places in Puerto Rico