- Baltasar Corrada del Río
Infobox_Congressman
name = Baltasar Corrada del Río
place of birth = Guayama,Puerto Rico
death_date =
death_place =
state =Puerto Rico
district =At-large
term = 1977–1985
preceded =Jaime Benítez
succeeded =Jaime Fuster Berlingeri
order2=
office2= Mayor ofSan Juan, Puerto Rico
term_start2=January 2 ,1985
term_end2=January 2 ,1989
predecessor2=Hernán Padilla
successor2=Héctor Luis Acevedo
birth_date= Birth date and age|1935|4|10|mf=y
death_date=
death_place=
spouse= "Beatriz Betances"
profession= Lawyer
party= New Progressive Party
footnotes=Baltasar Corrada del Río (born
April 10 ,1935 ) is a former politician fromPuerto Rico . 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),Secretary of State (1993-1995) andAssociate Justice to the Supreme Court (1995-2005). He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Governor in the elections of 1988.Education
Corrada del Río graduated high school from
Colegio Ponceño de Varones in 1952 and obtained his Bachelor's Degree inSocial Studies in 1956 and his Law Degree from theUniversity of Puerto Rico in 1959. Admitted to the Puerto Rico bar that year. He was a privatelawyer from 1969 to 1975.Political career
In 1976, after initially expressing an interest in becoming Mayor of San Juan, Corrada del Río was elected
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico . During his tenure, (1977-1985) he advocated for the admission ofPuerto Rico into the Union and helped found the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. Corrada served asMayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico from 1985 to 1989.In the elections of 1988, Corrada made an unsuccessful bid to become
Governor of Puerto Rico . He was defeated by incumbent GovernorRafael Hernández Colón .In January 1993,
Pedro Rosselló became Governor and appointed Corrada to the post ofSecretary of State . Later, in 1995, Rosselló appointed Corrada as Associate Justice of theSupreme Court of Puerto Rico . He took the oath of office onJuly 15 ,1995 after confirmation by unanimity at theSenate of Puerto Rico . During his tenure as Associate Justice, Corrada was among the moderate/conservative voices in the Court, usually adhering to strict interpretations of the Constitution while practicing a firm type ofjudicial restraint .The
Constitution of Puerto Rico mandates an obligatory retirement for the Justices of the Supreme Court at age 70. Corrada arrived at this age in April, 2005 and was forced to retire. Prior to his retirement, Corrada publicly asked for an amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the obligatory retirement age for the justices, saying that by obligating people to retire the constitution is discriminating by reason of age.The court seat left vacant by Corrada is yet, as of 2007, vacant. Governor
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá has not nominated anyone for the position and Senate PresidentKenneth McClintock made it clear in his inaugural speech as Senate president in 2005 that only a well-qualified statehooder would muster the votes for Senate confirmation to Court seats previously held by statehooders in order to assure "balance" on the bench.Corrada currently serves as "of counsel" to Puerto Rico's largest law firm, McConnell Valdés of which he had been a partner prior to holding elective office. Since his retirement from the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, he announced that he would abstain from political activity for one year, and on March 14, 2006 announced that within a month will begin attending
New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico meetings, as former party president, to provide discrete advice. He also publicly disagreed with current party presidentPedro Rossello by objecting to the recent expulsion of Senate PresidentKenneth McClintock and Vice PresidentOrlando Parga from the party for refusing to turn over the Senate Presidency to Rossello.Personal life
He is the brother of Alvaro Corrada del Río,
Roman Catholic Bishop ofTyler, Texas . He is married to Beatriz Betances and has one daughter,Ana Isabel, three sons: Juan Carlos, Jose and Fransico; as well as several grandchildren: James Gregg, Michael Gregg, Alexis Marie,and Mayra.External links
* [http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/congress/corrada.html Hispanic Americans in Congress: Corrada del Río]
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