Rolando Burgoa Pablos (born September 26, 1967) is an American executive, attorney, and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He was sworn in as Secretary of State of Texas on January 5, 2017. On December 6, 2018, Pablos announced his resignation as Secretary of State effective December 15.

Background

Born in Sonora,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Pablos grew up in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

, Texas. He graduated from Cathedral High School in El Paso.

Education

In 1992, he graduated from St. Mary's University in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, Texas, with 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 ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. He then earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the Education in San Antonio, largest universi ...

, a master's in Hospitality Management from the

Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management The Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership (Hilton College) is a college at the University of Houston, a public research university in Houston, Texas, focused on hospitality. It is one of 13 academic colleges at the university ...

at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

, and in 1998 a Juris Doctor from

St. Mary's University School of Law St. Mary's University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of St. Mary's University, a private Catholic university located in San Antonio, Texas. Academics The School of Law has an enrollment of about 770 students, pursu ...

. Pablos was described as the "driving force" behind the creation of the San Antonio campus of Hilton College, at which he formerly served as adjunct lecturer of hospitality law.

Career

Pablos formerly served as a Texas Public Utility Commissioner and then chaired the Texas Racing Commission. He was nominated to serve as Texas Secretary of State by Republican

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 ...

and confirmed by the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...

on February 14, 2017. In March 2017, Pablos made his first international diplomatic mission to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, during which he affirmed the strong economic relationship between

and Mexico. After the trip, Pablos said he was "highly encouraged" by his meetings and discussions with both private and public sector officials, including representatives from the

SENER SENER is a private engineering and technology group founded in 1956, and specialises in activities related to Engineering and Construction, and has industrial holdings in companies working in the areas of energy, environment and aeronautics. SEN ...

, Mexico's energy ministry. Pablos co-founded Uriel Americas and served as chief executive officer of the Borderplex Alliance, a bi-national economic developmental corporation. In August 2017, as a new school year loomed, Pablos urged high school principals to register qualified students for voting. The principals, noted Pablos, are required under the state election code to serve as deputy voter registrars, in which capacity they are expected to distribute voter registration applications to students who will turn eighteen by election day. Writing in ''World Oil'' magazine in November 2017, Pablos expressed optimism that Mexico's energy reforms enacted in 2013 would provide Texas and Mexico "a new opportunity" to collaborate in cross-border energy trade, through what he calls the "Texas-Mexico Energy Nexus," adding that "the potential is enormous for Texas energy leaders to expand in a newly privatized Mexican energy market." Pablos had made cross-border energy integration the focus of a Texas Border Trade Advisory Committee meeting earlier that year. In March 2018, Pablos welcomed

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

to Texas during his

Diamond jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

visit to the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pablos, Rolando 1967 births 21st-century American politicians American politicians of Mexican descent Living people People from Ciudad Juárez People from El Paso, Texas People from Travis County, Texas Secretaries of State of Texas Texas Republicans Mexican emigrants to the United States St. Mary's University, Texas alumni University of Texas at San Antonio alumni University of Houston alumni Politicians from Sonora