Severo Colberg Toro (born on November 6, 1953, in Cabo Rojo,

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 ...

) is a Puerto Rican

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, a ...

and attorney. He served as a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Sen ...

from 1993 to 2004. He is affiliated to the Popular Democratic Party (PPD).

Early years and studies

Severo Colberg Toro was born on November 7, 1953, in Cabo Rojo. His parents are

Severo Colberg Ramírez Severo E. Colberg Ramírez (September 16, 1924 – December 26, 1990) was a Puerto Rican politician. He served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, and was the Speaker from 1982 to 1985. He was affiliated to the Popular Dem ...

, a former President of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and Eva Toro Franquiz, a college professor and former Student Dean at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

. His younger brother,

Jorge Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...

, was also elected a member of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2012. Colberg Toro completed his bachelor's degree and

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

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 1980. He worked as a

legal counsel A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...

to the House of Representatives from 1981 to 1990 and was executive director of the House of Representatives Committee Against Government Corruption . He was also a member of the Board of the

Puerto Rico Bar Association The Bar Association of Puerto Rico (BAPR) or ''Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico (CAPR)'' is the bar association of Puerto Rico. It is the oldest professional association in Puerto Rico, and among the oldest bar associations in the world. The ...

, and presided the presidential campaign of

Rev. Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...

in Puerto Rico in 1988.

Political career: 1992-2004

Colberg was first elected to the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. He was appointed Minority Whip and Minority Speaker in 1995. Colberg was reelected in 1996 and

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 ...

. In 2003, Colberg decided to run for 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 ...

, and gained a spot in the ballot at the PPD primaries. However, at the 2004 general elections, he lost.Elecciones Generales 2004
on CEEPUR

References

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External links

Severo Colberg Toro
on MCNBiografias {{DEFAULTSORT:Colberg Toro, Severo 1953 births Living people Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico People from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico