Pedro Rafael Vázquez Rivera (December 16, 1934 – June 23, 2011), served as

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 ...

's eighth Secretary of State from 1979 to 1981 under Governor

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He al ...

, Deputy Mayor of

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

from 1984 to 1988 under Mayor Baltasar Corrada del Rio and Executive Director of the publicly owned

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA; Spanish: ''LUMA'', ''AEE'') was an electric power company owned by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico responsible for electricity generation, power distribution, and power transmission on the island. ...

(PREPA) from 1977 to 1979. He was an attorney and engineer.

Public life

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

graduate in 1957, he served in the

United States Marines Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

during the late 1950s and early 1960s. During the

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

administration, he served as Deputy Counsel and General Counsel of the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

. He served in multiple public sector roles at the Federal, state and municipal level, in addition to practicing law, serving as president of the now-defunct El Mundo newspaper and working as a developer and project manager. During his stint as PREPA's Executive Director, the authority went through one of its most difficult strikes. As Secretary of State, he not only headed Puerto Rico's Department of State, but fulfilled the role of Lieutenant Governor, serving as Acting Governor whenever Gov. Romero was off the island.

Private life

Born on December 16, 1934, Vázquez died on June 23, 2011, at the age of 76. He was married to the former Carmen Iris Alsina and had three daughters and a son, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, he was interred at the

Puerto Rico National Cemetery Puerto Rico National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery located in the city of Bayamón, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It encompasses of land, and at the end of 2005, had 44,722 interments. Until 2021, it was the only United St ...

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city, Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico and suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan located in the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Aguas Buenas an ...

where he was eulogized by his successor, current Secretary of State

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...

. Flags flew at half-staff for three days in his honor after his death.

References

1934 births 2011 deaths Burials at Puerto Rico National Cemetery New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican lawyers Puerto Rican military officers Puerto Rican United States Marines Secretaries of State of Puerto Rico United States Marine Corps officers United States Naval Academy alumni {{PuertoRico-politician-stub