Ben Luján, Sr. (July 12, 1935 – December 18, 2012) was an American politician from New Mexico. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he was the Speaker of the

New Mexico House of Representatives The New Mexico House of Representatives () is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the South ...

. He served in the State House from 1975 through 2012. He was elected as Speaker beginning in 2001, serving until his death in office. His legislative district, the 46th, was composed mostly of Santa Fe. He is the father of U.S. Senator

Ben Ray Luján Ben Ray Luján ( ; born June 7, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the United States House of Re ...

Early life

Ben Luján was born to Nestora and Celedon Luján on July 12, 1935 in the Nambé Pueblo. His brothers were Ramos, Gustavo and Nestor; and sisters, Olivama and Josie. Their father was a sheepherder and was one of the first laborers recruited for the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

at Los Alamos.Obituary: Speaker Ben Lujan
Legacy.com; accessed 20 July 2016 Lujan's family were

Hispanos of New Mexico The Hispanos of New Mexico, also known as New Mexican Hispanics or Nuevomexicanos, are Hispanic residents originating in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the US state of New Mexico (''Nuevo México''), southern Color ...

, descendants of colonial settlers in the area long before it was part of the United States.

Career

Although he had hoped to be the first in his family to go to college, Luján became an iron worker and contractor for the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

to support his family. In 1970, the senior Luján entered politics, being elected to the

Santa Fe County Santa Fe County (; meaning "County of the Holy faith" in Spanish) is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, its population was 154,823, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo Count ...

Commission. In 1974 he was elected to the New Mexico State House. He served succeeding terms for decades, and in all three leadership positions: as Majority Whip, Majority Floor Leader, and as the second longest-serving Speaker of the House until his death in 2012.

Personal life

Luján was married to Carmen Ray, and the couple had four children, including

. Luján died of cancer in 2012, aged 77.Ben Luján Speaker
lubbockonline.com December 19, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lujan, Ben County commissioners in New Mexico Speakers of the New Mexico House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives 2012 deaths

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

American politicians of Mexican descent Deaths from lung cancer in the United States 1935 births Deaths from cancer in New Mexico People from Nambé Pueblo, New Mexico Catholics from New Mexico 20th-century members of the New Mexico Legislature 21st-century members of the New Mexico Legislature