Modesto Agosto Alicea (December 7, 1943 – October 22, 2016) was a Puerto Rican politician and senator. He was a member of 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 ...

from 1997 to 2005 representing the Popular Democratic Party (PPD).

Early years and studies

Modesto Agosto Alicea was born on December 7, 1943, in Comerío,

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 ...

. He studied at the Horace Mann Tower Elementary School in Comerío, and then finished his high school at the Gabriela Mistral High School in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. Agosto then received an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

in Business Administration and Accounting from the

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has c ...

in San Germán.

Professional career

Agosto worked as Senior Project Engineer for Telecom Engineering Consultants and Bemac Technical Services during the 1970s and 1980s. From the mid-1980s to 1997, he worked as an Engineering Supervisor at the

Puerto Rico Telephone Company Claro Puerto Rico is one of the largest telecommunications services company in Puerto Rico. It is headquartered in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and has operated for almost a century offering voice, data, long distance, broadban ...

Political career

Agosto was elected to the

for the first time in 1996 general elections, representing the District of Ponce, along with

Bruno Ramos Bruno A. Ramos Olivera (born December 4, 1950 in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican politician and former senator. He was a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1997 to 2005 representing the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). Early years ...

. They were both reelected in

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 ...

. During that term, Agosto presided the Commission of Treasury at the Senate. Agosto and Ramos were reelected again in the 2004 general elections. During that term, Agosto presided the Commissions of Treasury, Health and Women Affairs, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, among others. Agosto and Ramos lost their place in the PPD ballot after losing at the 2008 PPD primaries.Primarias 2008: Escrutinio General
on CEEPUR Agosto died on October 22, 2016, of

Esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

, at the age of 72 in

Rincón, Puerto Rico Rincón () is a popular beach town and municipality of Puerto Rico founded in 1771 by Don Luis de Añasco, who previously founded Añasco in 1733. It is located in the Western Coastal Valley, west of Añasco and Aguada. Rincón is spread over ...

References

External links

* on SenadoPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Agosto Alicea, Modesto 1943 births 2016 deaths Deaths from esophageal cancer Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni People from Comerío, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the Senate of Puerto Rico 21st-century Puerto Rican politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican politicians