Víctor Lorenzo Vassallo Anadón (born October 11, 1960) is a Puerto Rican businessman, athlete, and politician affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He has been 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 ...

since 2009 representing

District 25 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. Before that, Vassallo distinguished himself as a businessman within Vassallo, Inc., and as a swimmer.

Early years and studies

Víctor Vassallo Anadón was born in Ponce on October 11, 1960 to Víctor "Chuchín" Vassallo and Daysi Anadón. He is the nephew of industrialist Salvador Vassallo. Víctor is the second of five sons. His brothers are Marcos,

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

(b. 1961), Vicente, and Salvador (b. 1968). Víctor's father died in a car accident in Florida in 1977. Vassallo has 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 ...

in Administration from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Docto ...

Sports career

Encouraged by his father, Vassallo and his brothers enrolled in a swimming team since childhood. As a result, they distinguished themselves in the sport. In 1972, Víctor Vassallo, Sr. moved his family to Florida looking for better training facilities for his sons. Three years later, they moved to Mission Viejo, California to be a part of the Mission Viejo Nadadores. In 1978, Víctor ranked first in the United States in 100 yards

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. The school has served the area since 1966. Students within ...

, California. In 1979, Vassallo represented Puerto Rico in the Pan American Games. He received a scholarship of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

for his performance. During the 1983–84 Games of the Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico, Vassallo won 8 medals (6 gold, 2 silver) and set 2 records. Vassallo was also ranked among the 20 best backstroke swimmers worldwide by the '' Swimming World Magazine''.

Professional career

After retiring from swimming, Vassallo worked as Vice President of Sales and Operations of Vassallo, Inc. in Florida. The company was founded by his uncle. Vassallo received the Ceiba Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Ponce because of his humanitarian and entrepreneurial vision.

Political career

Vassallo was first elected to the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, representing District 25. He was reelected in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Personal life

Vassallo is married to artist Ana Olmo. They have two daughters together: Gianina and Alexandra.

References

External links

Víctor Vassallo Official biographyVíctor Vassallo Profile
on

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, which is 84% owned by InterMedia Partners. WAPA-TV's studios are located on Avenida Luis Vigoreaux in G ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vassallo, Victor Living people 1960 births Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Politicians from Ponce Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Puerto Rico Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico alumni