Miguel A. Pereira Castillo (born September 26, 1947) is a Puerto Rican politician, attorney, and public servant. Throughout his career, he has served in various government positions like Director of the

Puerto Rico Ports Authority The Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA) ( es, Autoridad de los Puertos; AP) is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico charged with developing, operating, and overseeing all seaports and airports in Puerto Rico. The Authority is ascribed to ...

, Superintendent of the

Puerto Rico Police Department The Puerto Rico Police Department ( es, Policía de Puerto Rico), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a division of the Puerto Rico Department ...

and Secretary of the

Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The Puerto Rico Department of Correction and Rehabilitation () is the law enforcement executive department of the government responsible for structuring, developing, and coordinating the public policies in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territ ...

. In 2012, he was elected to the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control th ...

for the District of Guayama. He is married to Public Relations Practitioner, Annie Bird.

Early years and studies

Miguel Pereira Castillo was born on September 26, 1947 in

Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...

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 two schoolteachers, Miguel and Gilda. Pereira studied in Puerto Rico public school system, obtaining his

high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

from the Benjamin Harrison High School in his hometown. In 1964, Pereira enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras to complete 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 ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. While studying there, he had his first military experience with the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

(ROTC). Pereira graduated in 1968 in the middle of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Military and professional career

After graduating, Pereira joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and became a rescue helicopter pilot during the

. During that time, he accrued more than 1,000 flight hours. Pereira was shot down on December 27, 1972 while flying a rescue mission away from

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. He also received a shot on his right arm for which he received a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

. He would later receive a

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

as well. After five years, Pereira earned a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

to study law at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. After passing the

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associa ...

, he returned to the Air Force at the

United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps also known as the "JAG Corps" or " JAG" is the legal arm of the United States Air Force. History The United States Air Force became a separate military service in September 1947. On June 25, 1948, Congress es ...

. After that, he started working for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He worked as a

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for 12 years.

Public service

In 2001, Governor of Puerto Rico

Sila Calderón Sila may refer to : Places and jurisdictions ; Asia * Silla, one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea * Sila, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ; Europe * La Sila, a mountainous area of Calabria, Italy ** Sila National Park * Siła, Warmian-Ma ...

appointed Pereira as Executive Director of the

. However, on 2002, Calderón put Pereira in charge of the

. The next year, Pereira swapped positions with Víctor Rivera González, which left him as Secretary of the

. When

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...

won the 2004 elections, he left Pereira in charge of the Department of Corrections. Pereira occupied the seat for the next four years, finishing his term on January 1, 2009. During his tenure, Pereira promoted the medication of drug addicts treating them as sick people instead of delinquents.

Political career

On October 29, 2011, Pereira presented his candidacy to the

with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He decided to run for the District of Guayama because he was "born, raised, and educated in it." In March 2012, he was the candidate with most votes within his district during the PPD primaries. After the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, Pereira resulted victorious earning a seat in the Senate.

Military awards

Airman's Medal The Airman's Medal (AmnM) is a military award and decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force for personnel who distinguish themselves by heroism involving voluntary risk of their life not involving actual combat with ...

National_Defense_Service_Medal_ribbon,_2nd_award

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...

with 1

service star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. A ...

Air Force Longevity Service Award The Air and Space Longevity Service Award (ASLSA) is a military award of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force established as the Air Force Longevity Service Award by Air Force General Order 60, on 25 November 1957 by General ...

Vietnam_Campaign_Medal_ribbon_with_60-_clasp

Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal ( vi, Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949, and awarded to French military personnel during the First ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira Castillo, Miguel 1947 births Living people United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Hofstra University alumni Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico People from Cayey, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican military officers Puerto Rican United States Air Force personnel Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Airman's Medal Superintendents of the Puerto Rico Police United States Air Force officers University of Puerto Rico alumni