Jaime Carlos Diaz de Veyra (November 4, 1873 – March 7, 1963) was a Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Philippine Islands from 1917 to 1923 and the 1st

Governor of Leyte The governor of Leyte is the local chief executive of the Philippine province of Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with ...

from 1906 to 1907.

Early life

He was born on November 4, 1873, in the town of Tanauan in

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

province.

Education

De Veyra attended both public and private schools. In 1888, he began studying at

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, and graduated in 1893 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

. In 1895, he began studying for a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

and a Bachelor of Philosophy and Letters at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

in Manila. He completed both degrees in 1898.

Political career

From 1888 to 1899 he served as secretary to the Military Governor of Leyte, General Ambrosio Moxica. In 1901 he was elected municipal councilor in the town of

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

, and became municipal vice-president the following year. In 1903, he became president of the electoral assembly of Cebu. In 1904, de Veyra became Director of Liceo de Maasim, in

, and served until 1905. In 1905, he became an editor for the Spanish-Tagalog language newspaper ''

El Renacimiento ''El Renacimiento'' () was a bilingual Spanish– Tagalog language newspaper. It was printed in Manila until the 1940s by the members of the Guerrero de Ermita family. Its directors were Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Teodoro M. Kalaw, and Rafael Palma ...

''. In 1906, de Veyra became

, He served until 1907, when he became a member of the first Philippine Assembly as the first representative of Leyte's Fourth District in the Philippine House of Representatives. He served in the Assembly until 1913, when he became a member of the Philippine Commission 1913–1916. In 1916, de Veyra was appointed executive secretary of the Philippine Islands under

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Francis Burton Harrison Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed governor-general of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodro ...

, and served until 1917. In 1917, de Veyra was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

as a Resident Commissioner of the Philippines. He reelected in 1920 and served from March 4, 1917, to March 3, 1923. He was declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1922. He engaged in journalistic work during 1923 he became head of the department of Spanish,

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

at Manila, 1925–1936. From 1937 to 1944. de Veyra was the director of the Institute of National Language. He also served as historical researcher in charge of manuscripts and publications, National Library and historical researcher, Office of the President, 1946.

Personal life

Jaime de Veyra married clubwoman and

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

Sofia Reyes Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has ...

in 1907. They had four children, Their son Manuel E. de Veyra was a doctor during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

serving at

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

. Their son Jesus de Veyra became a judge, and dean of the

Ateneo Law School , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_affi ...

from 1976 to 1981. Sofia Reyes de Veyra died in 1953, aged 77 years old.Rosario Avila de Veyra
''Faith, Work, Success: An Appraisal of the Life and Work of Sofia Reyes de Veyra''
(University of San Carlos, 1959). Jaime de Veyra died in

, Philippines on March 7, 1963. He was buried at

La Loma Cemetery The La Loma Catholic Cemetery (Spanish: ''Campo Santo de La Loma'') was opened in 1884 and is largely located in Caloocan, Metro Manila. A portion of the southern part of the cemetery is located in Manila. The La Loma Cemetery is the oldest ceme ...

Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan ( fil, Lungsod ng Caloocan; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most ...

. File:DeVEYRA, JAIME HONORABLE LCCN2016859761.jpg, de Veyra in the U.S. File:US Welcome for 2nd Philippine delegation for Independence from the US 1921.tif, de Veyra welcoming the 2nd Philippine delegation. Left to right: de Veyra,

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

, Possibly Leonard Wood, Sergio Osmeña and Isauro Gabaldón.

References

External links