Romero-Barceló, Carlos, 1932-2021

ROMERO-BARCELÓ, Carlos A., a Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico; born in San Juan, P.R., September 4, 1932; graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H., 1949; B.A., Yale University, 1953; LL.B., University of Puerto Rico School of Law, 1956; practicing attorney, San Juan; mayor of San Juan, 1969-1976; member, board of directors, U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities, 1976; president, National League of Cities, 1976; president, New Progressive Party, 1974-1985 and 1989-1992; Governor of Puerto Rico, 1977-1985; chairman, Southern Governors Association, 1980-1981; member of the Puerto Rico senate, 1986-1989; elected as a New Progressive to the One Hundred Third Congress for a four-year term and reelected to the succeeding term (January 3, 1993-January 3, 2001); caucused with the Democratic Party; unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Seventh Congress in 2000; died on May 2, 2021, in San Juan, P.R.

<p>With only a few breaks, Carlos Antonio Romero-Barceló served in public office for nearly 40 years. A leading figure in the Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party, or PNP), Romero-Barceló served two terms as Resident Commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives, promoting Puerto Rico’s statehood and working to strengthen the island’s relationship with the federal government.</p>

<p>Romero-Barceló, who became the most distinguished member of a prominent political family, was born September 4, 1932, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His maternal grandfather, Antonio R. Barceló, was president of the insular senate, and his mother, Josefina Barceló, was the last president of the island’s Partido Liberal (Liberal Party) before it dissolved. As a young man, Romero-Barceló moved to New Hampshire to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, from which he graduated in 1949. He earned a B.A. from Yale University in 1953, with a double major in political science and economics. Returning to Puerto Rico, he earned a law degree from the Universidad de Puerto Rico in 1956, passed the bar, and began working for a private law firm. He married and had two sons, Carlitos and Andres. Romero-Barceló and his second wife, Kate Donelly, also had a son, Juan Carlos.</p>

<p>Romero-Barceló started his political career as the director of the pro-statehood group Citizens for State 51. From 1965 to 1967, he worked his way up to the PNP leadership. Only 36 years old, but increasingly popular, he ran for mayor of San Juan in 1968 against elder statesman Jorge Font Saldaña of the Partido Popular Democrático (Popular Democratic Party, or PPD). According to a city newspaper, the election quickly became “a battle between the generations at a time in which age probably has a bigger role to play in an island election than at any time in its history.” An enthralling speaker, Romero-Barceló visited San Juan’s housing projects and schools as he talked about his ambitious economic program, “Operation Rescue.” In “the most interesting, stimulating, and, at times, gaudiest campaign the city has had in recent history,” Romero-Barceló, who stumped with armed security personnel, crushed Font Saldaña in the general election.</p>

<p>Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as Governor of Puerto Rico. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He also served 2 terms in Congress as the 16th Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001.</p>

<p>Romero Barceló was the grandson of Antonio R. Barceló, a Union Party leader and advocate of Puerto Rican independence during the early 20th century, and the son of Josefina Barceló, the first woman to preside over a major political party in Puerto Rico.</p>

<p>Romero Barceló was born in 1932 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of Antonio Romero Moreno and Josefina Barceló Bird. His father was a lawyer and engineer who served as a superior court judge. His maternal grandfather was Antonio Rafael Barceló the son of Jaime José Barceló Miralles from Palma, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain and Josefa Martínez de León from Naguabo.</p>