MAURICE FERRE Biography - Polititians

 
 

Biography » polititians » maurice ferre

MAURICE FERRE

Name: Maurice Ferre                                                               
Born: 23 June 1935                                                                 
                                                                                   
Maurice A. Ferre (born June 23, 1935) is the first US mayor born in Puerto Rico   
and the first Hispanic mayor of Miami.                                             
                                                                                   
Ferre born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, was born into a wealthy Puerto Rican family.     
He was the son of businessman Jose Ferre and nephew of the former governor of     
Puerto Rico Luis A. Ferre. Ferre's father Jose visited Miami, Florida in the       
1920's and wondered why the city didn't have any tall buildings. He then           
ventured into construction and real estate development in Miami. Ferre was born   
when Jose and his family returned to his hometown, Ponce in Puerto Rico.           
                                                                                   
From 1993-1996, Ferre was Vice-Chairman of the Dade County Board of               
Commissioners. He has been active in national political campaigns and he was a     
member of several presidential advisory boards. Ferre has also worked as a         
banker and business consultant and has held various research and teaching posts.   
In November 2001, he lost his bid to be reelected Mayor of Miami.                 
                                                                                   
Ferre is on a fellowship at Princeton University and is writing a book about the   
contributions Hispanics have made to the American culture. Ferre is one of the     
driving forces behind the INTERMESTIC (stands for "International" - "Domestic")   
dialogue, which attempts to seek consensus regarding Puerto Rico's political       
status problem from an "international" as well as "domestic" point of view. He     
most recently spoke about this effort to deal with Puerto Rico's political         
status in an address to the Puerto Rico Senate as keynote speaker during the       
Governors' Day special session on February 16, 2006.