Luis A. Ferre

Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo (February 17, 1904 – October 21, 2003) was an engineer, businessman, philanthropist, politician, musician, and patron of the arts. He was the third democratically elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973 and founding father of the New Progressive Party that advocates for the statehood of Puerto Rico.

Youth and education

Luis Alberto Ferré was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on February 17, 1904. His father Antonio Ferré Bacallao was a native of Cuba, who in 1896 moved to Puerto Rico, where he founded the Puerto Rico Company. He worked in the Playa de Ponce sector, Puerto Rico.

Ferré studied engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning his bachelor's degree in 1924 followed by his master's degree in 1925. He then studied music at the New England Conservatory of Music. During these years, Ferré developed an admiration for him for the American way of life.

Businessman

Upon his return to Puerto Rico, Ferré helped transform his father's company into one of the most productive on the island, amassing a fortune in the process. In 1948, he bought the newspaper "El Día", making it the newspaper with the largest circulation in Puerto Rico.

In the 1950s, it acquired the companies Puerto Rico Cement and Ponce Cement (consolidated under Puerto Rico Cement), which prospered as a result of the increase in construction and projects by Operation Bootstrap from the United States federal government.

After his victory in the 1968 elections, Ferré dissociated himself from the newspaper and left it under the control of his eldest son Antonio Luis Ferré Ramírez, who in 1970 changed the name of the newspaper to "El Nuevo Día".

Political career

Ferré began to participate actively in politics in the 1940s. During this time, he ran for mayor of Ponce in 1940 and 1944 and for the position of Resident Commissioner in 1948, although he was not favored electorally.

Representative

In 1951, Luis A. Ferré was elected to the Constitutional Convention, which drafted the Constitution of Puerto Rico in 1952. Among the achievements obtained by Ferré and the Estadista delegation in the Convention was the amendment to the preamble of the Constitution in where the permanent union with the United States was stipulated.

In 1952 he was elected Representative by Accumulation for the Puerto Rican Statesman Party, a position he held from 1953 to 1957. In 1956 he was a candidate for Governor for the Republican Statesman Party, obtaining 25% of the votes and taking his party to second place, above the Independence Party (in 1952 the PIP had been the second party with the highest votes).

In 1960 and 1964 he aspired again to the governorship. Although he did not prevail in the elections, both times he increased his number and percentage of the votes. In 1960 he won in the municipality of San Lorenzo.

Governor and Senator

In the plebiscite on the political status of Puerto Rico in 1967, it was carried out to assess whether Puerto Rico would continue to be a Commonwealth or, on the contrary, would join the United States federation or establish its independence. The Republican Statesman Party decided not to participate in this process. Faithful to his ideals, Ferré founded the non-partisan movement "United States" and participated in the plebiscite. In the plebiscite, Estadidad increased its votes to 39% and won in 10 constituencies (San Lorenzo, Cataño, Corozal, two constituencies in Ponce, four in San Juan and Hato Tejas in Bayamón. Inspired by the result of the plebiscite, Ferré and his followers founded the New Progressive Party (PNP) on August 20, 1967 on the field of the Country Club in Carolina.The process of collecting the signatures to register the party was quite fast and in a few weeks thousands were obtained over the 42,000 required by the Electoral Law.

The PNP had to fight in court to be able to use the coconut palm as its insignia, because the Popular Democratic Party and the Republican States Party objected to the insignia because it resembled the Royal Palm, which was the emblem of the Statehood in the 1967 plebiscite. The PNP campaign, with the slogans "This has to change", "New life" and "Ferré will do it", captivated the electorate's attention. Having separated politically from the old Statesman Party increased Ferré's popularity, and allowed him to attract to his party voters who until then had voted for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). Ferré increased his vote from 288,504 in 1964 to 400,815 in 1968.

The internal problems of the PPD and the division that said party suffered when Governor Roberto Sánchez Vilella left the PPD to take charge of the People's Party, helped the New Progressive Party.

On November 6, 1968, Ferré became the third governor elected by Puerto Ricans. His victory marked the first defeat for the opposition Popular Democratic Party. Ferré governed from 1969 to 1973. His works include having obtained the vote for 18-year-olds, granting property titles to those who lived on the plots, the construction of 75% of the San Juan to Ponce Expressway, increases in federal aid for Puerto Ricans and guaranteeing the Christmas bonus. During his term, he visited Puerto Rican troops in Vietnam. In 1972, he ran for a second term as ruler but was defeated by Rafael Hernández Colón of the PPD. Nonetheless, he continued to be active in politics.

In 1976 he was elected senator by accumulation and when the PNP obtained a majority in said legislative body, he was elected president of the Senate, a position he held from 1977 to 1981. In 1980 he was reelected to the Senate, and held his seat until 1985. In 1984 he ran unsuccessfully for a senatorial seat in the Ponce district. He did not run for elective office again, although he continued his tenure as chairman of the Puerto Rico Republican Party, a state affiliate of the Republican Party (GOP).

Patron of Fine Arts

In 1949, Ferré founded the Museo de Arte de Ponce. Originally, the museum exhibited 71 paintings from Ferré's private collection, but today it houses more than 3,000 works of art and is one of the most comprehensive and famous museums in the Caribbean. The Center for Fine Arts, in Santurce, Puerto Rico, bears his name. He was one of the founders of the Casals Festival, which is still held between March and April. Ferré was known as a talented pianist, recording several instrumental records during his lifetime as a musician.

Death and legacy

Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Ferré Sculpture at the Capitol of Puerto Rico.

On September 29, 2003, Ferré was hospitalized as a result of a urinary infection. He later developed an intestinal blockage for which he had to undergo surgery. During the following days he developed pneumonia and finally passed away on the morning of October 21, 2003 due to respiratory arrest. He was 99 years old.

Ferré obtained a state funeral attended by all the former governors of Puerto Rico, as well as former US President George H. W. Bush.

Among the many awards Ferré received during his lifetime, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, bestowed on November 18, 1991 by President George H. W. Bush, stands out.