Corrada-del Río, Baltasar, 1935-2018

CORRADA-DEL RÍO, Baltasar, a Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico; born in Morovis, P.R., April 10, 1935; attended Morovis Public Elementary School; graduated from Colegio Ponceno de Varones High School, 1952; B.A., University of Puerto Rico, 1956; J.D., University of Puerto Rico Law School, 1959; admitted to the Puerto Rico bar in 1959 and commenced practice in San Juan; appointed to the Civil Rights Commission of Puerto Rico, 1969; columnist, El Mundo newspaper; member, Puerto Rico Human Rights Review, 1971-1972; elected as a New Progressive to the Ninety-Fifth Congress for a four-year term and reelected to the succeeding term (January 3, 1977-January 3, 1985); caucused with the Democratic Party; was not a candidate for reelection to the Ninety-Ninth Congress in 1984, but was elected mayor of San Juan, P.R. in 1985; elected president, New Progressive Party, 1986; died on March 11, 2018, in Fort Myers, Fla.

<p>Baltasar Corrada del Río (April 10, 1935 – March 11, 2018) was a Puerto Rican politician. He held various high political offices in the island, including President of the Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission, Resident Commissioner (1977–1985), Mayor of the capital city of San Juan (1985–1989), Puerto Rico's 15th Secretary of State (1993–1995) and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (1995–2005). He was also the unsuccessful NPP candidate for Governor in the elections of 1988.</p>

<p>Corrada del Río obtained his high school diploma from Colegio Ponceño de Varones in 1952, and both his bachelor's degree in Social Studies in 1956 and his law degree from the University of Puerto Rico in 1959. He was admitted to the Puerto Rico Bar that year and practiced as a private lawyer from 1969 to 1975.</p>

<p>In 1976, after initially expressing an interest in becoming Mayor of San Juan and running in an unofficial internal primary within the NPP, Corrada del Río was elected Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. During his tenure (1977–1985), he advocated for the admission of Puerto Rico into the Union and co-founded the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. Corrada served as Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, from 1985 to 1989 (having won the 1984 mayoral election).</p>

<p>Baltasar Corrada-del Río began his career as a leading human rights advocate in Puerto Rico and quickly became one of the island’s most influential Resident Commissioners. A leading figure in the Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party, or PNP) and a champion of Puerto Rican statehood, Corrada-del Río took an active interest in the concerns of minority citizens nationwide. Having helped found the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), he worked to ensure that Puerto Ricans and Hispanic Americans everywhere had access to important federal programs. “To me,” he said toward the end of his career in the House, “it is quite an honor to be able to represent the interests of the Hispanic community."</p>

<p>Corrada-del Río was born on April 10, 1935, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, to Rómulo Corrada and Ana María del Río. He attended the Morovis public grammar school until he was 13 and graduated from Colegio Ponceño de Varones high school in 1952. He immediately enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences four years later. He remained at the university and completed a law degree in 1959. That year he married Beatriz A. Betances. They had four children: Ana Isabel, Francisco Javier, Juan Carlos, and José B.</p>

<p>Corrada-del Río was admitted to the bar in 1959, quickly made partner at a leading firm, and began a long and distinguished legal career. Unlike many Resident Commissioners, Corrada-del Río shied away from electoral office early on and often accepted leadership positions behind the scenes. In 1969, for instance, as the island’s administration faced accusations of political suppression, Corrada-del Río was appointed to Puerto Rico’s civil rights commission, which he chaired from 1970 to 1972. In 1970 alone he was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Archbishop of Puerto Rico on Drug Abuse; the Puerto Rican Medical Association’s Council of Public Health; and the Puerto Rican Bar Examination Board, having been appointed by the island’s supreme court.</p>