Fuster Berlingeri, Jaime B. (Jaime Benito), 1941-2007

Jaime Benito Fuster Berlingeri (January 12, 1941 – December 3, 2007) was a Puerto Rican politician. He notably served as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 1985 to 1992 and as an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1992 until his death in 2007.

Born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, he graduated from Saint Anthony High School there before earning a B.A. from Notre Dame University, a LL.B. from the Universidad de Puerto Rico and an LL.M. from Columbia University. He received a fellowship in law and the humanities from Harvard from 1973 to 1974. When he returned to Puerto Rico, he served as dean of his law school through 1978. Throughout his tenure, Fuster took a particular interest in interamerican policy throughout Latin America, traveling extensively throughout the region. In 1980 he left the university to serve as a U.S. deputy assistant attorney general. The next year he started a fouryear tenure as president of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico.

In 1984, he was elected Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States Congress. During his tenure (1985–1992), he served a term as Chair of Congressional Hispanic Caucus. In both terms, he served on the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, and on the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. In Congress, he was a strong advocate for educational and youth programs. He supported numerous laws and bills to give state and local governments assistance for youth service projects and programs aimed at preventing substance use. He also supported the establishment of a Children, Youth, and Families Administration, as well as the establishment of a federal child care program. He sponsored legislation to increase social security funds for families with blind, aged, and disabled dependents.

In 1992, Governor Rafael Hernández Colón appointed him to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Fuster resigned from his Resident Commissioner position on March 4, 1992 to take an appointment as associate justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. He took the oath of office on March 4, 1992 after confirmation by the Senate, serving on the Court until his death; he was considered one of the leading liberal voices on the Court. Fuster was buried at Buxeda Memorial Park Cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico.