Ramón Luis Rivera Rivera (born June 21, 1929) is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party. He served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of Bayamón from 1977 until 2001.

Early life

Rivera was born in Aguas Buenas. Rivera began his primary studies in his hometown of Aguas Buenas, but completed high school at the Dr. Agustín Stahl High School in Bayamón. He then completed an

Associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

in Administration from the Metropolitan School of Commerce. Rivera served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. From 1952 to 1954, he served during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He was stationed in

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until being honorably discharged. Rivera worked for 15 years for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.

Political career

Rivera began his political career in 1968, when he was elected as member of the Municipal Assembly of Bayamón. In 1972, Rivera was elected to the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico The House of Representatives of 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 Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

representing District 6. After one term as Representative, Rivera ran for Mayor at the 1976 general election. He defeated incumbent Manuel Aponte Borrero. His main concerns towards Bayamón were in the tourism and business industries. During his 24-year tenure, many buildings and other types of structures were inaugurated, including the ''

Parque De Las Ciencias Parque de las Ciencias Luis A. Ferré is an educational and recreational park located in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, owned by the Municipality of Bayamón, focused on STEAM education. It is one of multiple touristic attractions inaugurated under the l ...

'', the ''Parque del Trensito'' (which had, at the time it opened, Puerto Rico's only running train and a

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

plane formerly used by

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), the city hall, which is a building that crosses over an avenue, the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum, the Canton Mall, a small, pedestrian suspension bridge at Lomas Verdes neighborhood and many others. In addition, a large industrial park with such notable companies as

7 Up 7 Up (stylized as 7UP worldwide) or Seven Up is an American brand of Lemon-lime drink, lemon-lime–flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, although the beverage is internationally distributed ...

and Wrangler also opened, in the area known as ''Lomas Verdes''. 7UP has a bottling facility there. Rivera was a member of the New Progressive Party (PNP). Rivera was the president of the New Progressive Party from 1988 until 1989. In 2000, he announced he would not run for mayor again, and his son, Ramón Luis Rivera Jr. was then elected as mayor. Rivera Jr. has held that position ever since. Rivera Sr. has since retired from public life.

External links

Ramón Luis Rivera Biography

- 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Ramon Luis 1929 births Living people People from Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico Mayors of Bayamón, Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Presidents of the New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) Puerto Rican party leaders Puerto Rican Roman Catholics United States Army soldiers 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico

Early life

Political career

See also

External links