William "Willie" Miranda Marín (September 23, 1940 – June 4, 2010) was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founde ...

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 ...

, from 1997 until his death in 2010.

Personal life

The son of José Miranda Gómez, a

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

cutter, and Rafaela Marín, a tobacco stripper, Miranda Marín was born in the Tomás de Castro sector of rural Caguas. and graduated from the José Gautier Benítez High School in Caguas in 1957. Four years later, he earned 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 Accounting from the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In 1969 he completed his Juris Doctor at 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 ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1970. Miranda Marín and his wife had three children: William Edgardo, Luis Alexander, and José Juan. They resided in the sector of Bairoa in Caguas.

Businessman

Miranda Marín held top positions at Empresas Díaz and the San Juan Cement Co. from 1979 to 1990, among them treasurer, executive vice-president, and co-chairman of the board. Before seeking public office for the first time in 1996, he devoted three years to housing and commercial development. Miranda Marín also served as member and treasurer of the board of the Puerto Rico Health Services Corp., as chairman of the board of the San Juan Children's Choir, and as chairman of the board of the Community Services Institute.

Political career and public service

He served as executive vice president of the Government Development Bank from 1973 to 1975, as executive director of the

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. ...

from 1975 to 1976, and he also served as executive director of the Office for Improvement of the Public Schools of Puerto Rico from 1990 to 1992. Miranda Marín also was the chairman of the

U.S. Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero An ...

Chapter of Puerto Rico, secretary-general of the

Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico The Popular Democratic Party ( es, Partido Popular Democrático, PPD) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the ...

(PPD), chairman of the PPD Status Commission, and president of the Puerto Rico Mayors Association. Until his death, he was chairman of the board of the Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its acronym in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

). His candidacy had been considered by the Popular Democratic Party (PPD by its acronym in Spanish) to be a viable contender for the Governorship of Puerto Rico.

Military career

William Miranda Marín served for 36 years in the

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) – es, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico– is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and s ...

starting as Private E-1 enlisted citizen-soldier in 1959 until his retirement in 1993 as the Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard with the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

(1990–1992). While commanding the Puerto Rico National Guard, MG William Miranda Marín founded the PRNG Institutional Trust (FIGNA). Attended the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

at Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Miranda Marín retired from the Puerto Rico Army National Guard in 1993.

Military awards

Political Views

Miranda Marín's views were regarded as ''soberanista,'' which seeks more sovereign political powers from the US outside the current framework of E.L.A. ( Estado Libre Asociado).

Mayor of Caguas

On January 13, 1997 Miranda Marín became the mayor of Caguas and had since won re-election in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Death

On September 18, 2009, Miranda Marín announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. On June 4, 2010, at 7:45 in the morning, Miranda Marín died in the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, after battling his illness. He was cremated, and his ashes were placed at Jardín Botánico y Cultural William Miranda Marín in

Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was found ...

Legacy

The building of the institutional trust of the National Guard of Puerto Rico on State Road #1 from Caguas to Río Piedras at the former facilities of Euro Bank, was posthumously named General William Miranda Marín.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marin, William Miranda 1940 births 2010 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Puerto Rico Mayors of places in Puerto Rico National Guard (United States) generals People from Caguas, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Puerto Rican Army personnel Puerto Rican businesspeople Puerto Rican military officers Puerto Rican Roman Catholics Puerto Rico Adjutant Generals Puerto Rico National Guard personnel Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) United States Army War College alumni