Saul N. Ramirez Jr. (born October 22, 1958) is an American politician, businessman, and former official in the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and u ...

Early life and education

Ramirez was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to Saul Ramirez, Sr., and the former Bertha Villarreal. He moved to Laredo when he was three years of age. His father had been a line foreman and diesel engine mechanic at

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace and defense company based in Southern California. Founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr., it merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas, where it operated as a di ...

. Ramirez was raised in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...

, where he attended the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

St. Augustine elementary and high schools.

Career

Mayor of Laredo

In 1990, Ramirez became the youngest mayor of

. He earlier served for two four-year terms on the Laredo City Council, prior to becoming mayor. Previously, he worked for nearly two decades in the insurance industry in Laredo. He is a former board member of the Inter-Government Risk Pool of the Texas Municipal League. Ramirez won the nonpartisan runoff election for mayor in 1990; he defeated Maria Guadalupe "Bebe" Zuñiga (1933–2017) Zuñiga had first faced a court-ordered recount with a third candidate, Rick Reyes, to determine that she had won the right to challenge Ramirez by a margin of only nine votes. The incumbent, Aldo Tatangelo, was term-limited under the Laredo municipal charter and instead ran unsuccessfully later that year for county judge of

Webb County Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 267,114. Its county seat is Laredo. The county was named after James Webb (1792–1856), who served as secretary of the treasury, secret ...

. As mayor, Ramirez secured a permit for the construction of the World Trade Bridge. He also worked to build four recreation centers, three fire stations, and a new public library at the intersection of McPherson and Calton roads. Because Ramirez vacated the mayoral position at the end of his second term, a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was called early in 1998 under the charter. Betty Flores, a former Laredo banker, won that contest and a few months later the regular city election as well.

Clinton administration

Ramirez resigned with several months remaining in his second term to take a position in the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

under

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succession. T ...

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

. From 1997 to 1998, Ramirez was the assistant secretary for the

Office of Community Planning and Development The Office of Community Planning and Development is an agency within the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The office administers the grant programs that help communities plan and finance their growth and development ...

. On June 19, 1998, Clinton nominated him to become the

United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The deputy secretary of housing and urban development, in the United States government, is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The most recent deputy secretary is Adrianne Todman, who was ...

, serving until the end of the administration in January 2001. On January 1, 1997, the ''

Laredo Morning Times The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation. References *Odie Arambula, ''Laredo Morning Times'', June 14, 2006. External links ''Laredo Mornin ...

'' named Ramriez "Laredoan of the Year". In 1995, he was named "Mayor of the Year" by the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association. In 1996, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' magazine named him one of the twenty-five most dynamic mayors in the nation.Zach Lindsey, "Hispanics tout ex-mayor for housing secretary", ''

'', December 5, 2008, p. 15A In 2008, the

Congressional Hispanic Caucus The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fo ...

and

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Henry R. Cuellar of Laredo petitioned

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

-elect

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to choose Ramirez as HUD secretary. At the time, Ramirez served on Obama's transition team. Obama, however, selected

Shaun Donovan Shaun Lawrence Sarda Donovan (born January 24, 1966) is an American government official and housing specialist who served as the 15th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 2009 to 2014, and Director of the US Office of M ...

for the role.

Later career

On March 17, 2010, Ramirez testified before the

House Financial Services Committee The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees ...

on the Obama administration's "Choice Neighborhoods Initiative," also known as the "Proposal to Revitalize Severely Distressed Public and Assisted Housing." Since that time, Ramirez has assisted various administrations in addressing and crafting national policy and program activities that relate to economic development and housing efforts. Ramirez has over twenty years of experience as a risk management and insurance industry executive. He is currently a member of

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

Housing Investment Trust Building America Advisory Board and the

Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company founded on July 21, 1994, and specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, with operations primarily in the ...

Community Renewal Fund Advisory Board.

Personal life

Ramirez and his wife, the former Aggie Ramos, have three children: Saul, Joaquin, and Alexis. They reside outside

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Saul N. Jr. Living people Mayors of Laredo, Texas United States deputy secretaries of housing and urban development Politicians from Los Angeles Texas Democrats Virginia Democrats Clinton administration personnel Businesspeople from Texas Politicians from Washington, D.C. People from Vienna, Virginia Activists for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights American civil rights activists Activists from California Hispanic and Latino American politicians 1958 births