Leonides "Leo" Díaz Urbina (born October 6, 1962) is a
Puerto Rican lawyer and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who served as a
legislator
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...
in the
24th and
25th House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, and as
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of the
New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
The New Progressive Party ( es, Partido Nuevo Progresista, PNP) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates statehood. The PNP is one of the two major parties in Puerto Rico with significant political strength and currently holds both ...
(PNP) in 2001. Diaz, was candidate for mayor of
San Juan in 2016.
Biography
Díaz Urbina was born in
San Juan,
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 ...
, where his father, Leonides Díaz, was the owner of a grocer's shop and his mother, Gilberta Urbina Guzmán, a
housewife
A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...
. He has a
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
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
with a minor in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from the
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
and a
juris doctor from the
University of Puerto Rico School of Law
The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...
.
In 1987, he was elected president of the National Association of Law Students, Rio Piedras Chapter. He was also elected as president of the
student council for the University of Puerto Rico School of Law.
In 1990, he was elected as municipal legislator for the municipal
legislative assembly of San Juan, as president of the
New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
The New Progressive Party ( es, Partido Nuevo Progresista, PNP) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates statehood. The PNP is one of the two major parties in Puerto Rico with significant political strength and currently holds both ...
for the
representative district III of San Juan, and as president of the
Republican Party for the same district.
In 1992, he was elected as a
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
* Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
* House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
* Legislator, som ...
for the same district in the
1992 general election. He was sworn on January 11, 1993, effectively becoming an official member of the
24th House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. As a member of the 24th House, Díaz Urbina presided the Commission of the Civil and Judiciary (now simply called the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Commission of the Judiciary, Commission of the Judiciary) and the Commission for the Development of San Juan (now called the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Commission on Integrated Development of the Capital City, Commission on Integrated Development of the Capital City).
In 1996, he was elected as a representative
at-large in the
1996 general election. He was sworn on January 13, 1997, effectively becoming an official member of the
25th House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.
In 1999, he decided to no longer run for the House of Representatives but publicly supported and campaigned for
Carlos Pesquera
Carlos Ignacio Pesquera-Morales (born August 17, 1956) is a Puerto Rican civil engineer. He ran in the 2016 New Progressive Party primary to be Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner as Pedro Pierluisi's ballot running mate, but lost by over 70% of ...
, then gubernatorial candidate for the New Progressive Party. In 2001, after Pesquera lost, he was elected
President of the New Progressive Party, although he was later succeeded by Pesquera, who was one of the NPP candidates in the 2004 elections.
Diaz, was candidate for mayor of
San Juan in 2016.
Personal life
Díaz Urbina married Zulma Ivelisse Fuster Troche, a
prosecutor for the district of San Juan, in 1997. They have three children, Leonides Sebastián (born in 2000) and Patricia Victoria (born in 2001), and Isabella Cristina (born in 2006).
Notes
References
External links
Facebook PageTwitter - @leodiazurbina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz Urbina, Leo
New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Presidents of the New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico)
1962 births
Living people
Puerto Rican party leaders
University of Puerto Rico alumni