Yzaguirre, Raul Humberto, 1939-

Raul Humberto Yzaguirre (born July 22, 1939) is an American civil rights activist and diplomat. He served as the president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza from 1974 to 2004 and as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic from November 2010 to May 2013.

A native of San Juan, Texas, Yzaguirre served four years in the U.S. Air Force’s Medical Corps after graduating from high school in 1958. In 1963, he enrolled at the University of Maryland on the G.I. Bill and planned to study medicine. After one year, Yzaguirre decided to transfer to George Washington University (GWU), where he became involved in student and community activism in the capitol region. In 1964, he founded the National Organization for Mexican American Services.

He married Audrey H. Bristow during his sophomore year at GWU, and in 1968, received his Bachelor of Science. After joining the Lyndon Johnson administration’s Office of Equal Opportunity’s Migrant Division as a program analyst, Yzaguirre founded Interstate Research Associates, a firm specializing in Mexican-American and education-based studies. He stepped down as the organization’s executive director in 1973 and returned to Texas.

In 1974, Yzaguirre took over the leadership of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) which seeks to address issues involving poverty and discrimination. Under Yzaguirre’s 30-year leadership, NCLR expanded from a regional advocacy group with 17 affiliates to more than 300 serving 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Yzaguirre worked to expand membership criteria to include not only Mexicans but also Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Argentines, Cubans and all other Hispanic subgroups.

Following his retirement in 2004 as CEO and president of the NCLR, Yzaguirre joined Arizona State University (ASU) in January 2005 as a presidential professor of practice in community development and civil rights. At ASU, he served on the board for the North American Center for Transborder Studies, which works to advance teaching and research on North American regional integration. During the 2008 presidential race, Yzaguirre served as a co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s campaign to win the Democratic nomination, which included chairing her Hispanic outreach efforts.

Nominated by President Barack Obama to be U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic on November 30, 2009, Yzaguirre was appointed to the position on October 1, 2010, presenting his credentials on November 17. He left his post on May 29, 2013 for health-related reasons, retiring to Mount Airy, Maryland.

Yzaguirre's affiliations and activities include serving on the boards of the United Way of America, the AARP, Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility, Enterprise Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, the Trustees of Dowling College, the Salvation Army and the 4-H Club. Yzaguirre also is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

From 1989 to 1990, he served as one of the first Hispanic Fellows of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.