- Ralph Moses Paiewonsky
Ralph Moses Paiewonsky (born
November 9 ,1907 ,Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands ; diedNovember 9 ,1991 , St. Thomas) was a businessman and politician who served as the ninth civilian governor of theUnited States Virgin Islands from 1961-1969.Paiewonsky was the son of Lithuanian immigrants to the Virgin Islands. He graduated from
New York University in 1930. He managed various family businesses, and was a founder of the West Indies Bank and Trust Company in 1954. In 1961, he was appointed Governor by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy .Paiewonsky's administration established the Department of Housing and Community Renewal in 1962, and began a program of land acquisition and home construction. Approximately 8,000 new homes were built under this program during Paiewonsky's term. He also supported public education reforms and the establishment of the
University of the Virgin Islands in 1962. Paiewonsky served as chairman of the university's board of directors until his death; the university's library is named for Paiewonsky.Paiewonsky was a delegate to
Democratic National Conventions between 1940 and 1960, and served as National Democratic Committeeman from the Virgin Islands. He was awardedhonorary degree s fromTufts University andFairleigh Dickinson University in 1967. In 1991, he published an autobiography, "Memoirs of A Governor."References
External links
* [http://cruzansyndicate.tripod.com/page5.htm Profile, "Prominent U.S. Virgin Islanders]
* [http://www.uvi.edu/pub-relations/sttlibrary.html Paiewonsky Library page, University of the Virgin Islands]
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