Maurice Ferré

Maurice Antonio Ferré (June 23, 1935 – September 19, 2019) was an American politician who served six terms as the Mayor of Miami. Ferré was the first Puerto Rican-born United States mayor and the first Latino person to serve as mayor of Miami. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2010 election for the U.S. Senate seat for Florida vacated by Mel Martínez for the Democratic primary.

Early years

Mayor Maurice Ferré speaking in front of Bayfront Park Main Library

Ferré was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was the son of businessman José Ferré and nephew of governor of Puerto Rico Luis A. Ferré (1904–2003). Ferre's father José visited Miami, Florida in the 1920s and wondered why the city did not have any tall buildings.<ref>The Ferre Family: Puerto Rican by Birth, Yanqui in Spirit Template:Webarchive</ref> He then ventured into construction and real estate development in Miami. Ferré was born when José and his family returned to their hometown, Ponce in Puerto Rico. Ferré was a graduate of the University of Miami.

File:Little league baseball team posing with politicians (Claude Pepper, Gov. Reubin Askew, Mayor Maurice Ferre, Commissioner Rose Gordon) at the dedication of Roberto Clemente Park.jpg

Ferre (back row, fourth from right) poses with little league players at the 1974 dedication of Roberto Clemente Park. He is joined by other politicians, including Rep. Claude Pepper, Gov. Reubin Askew, and Rose Gordon

Ferré served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1967 to 1968.<ref>House counties myfloridahouse.gov Template:Dead link</ref> He served as mayor of Miami from 1973 to 1985.

From 1993 to 1993, Ferré served in the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners and was Vice-Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners. He was active in national political campaigns, and was a member of several presidential advisory boards. Ferré also worked as a banker and business consultant, and held various research and teaching posts.

On December 20, 1995, Francisco Ferré Malaussena, Mariana Gómez de Ferré, and Felipe Antonio Ferré Gómez, the son, daughter-in-law, and grandson of Ferré, died when American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Colombia.<ref name="Listofdead">"The List of the 164 People on Flight 965," The New York Times</ref><ref>"CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—Extensions of Remarks Template:Webarchive," U.S. Government Printing Office</ref>

Ferré ran for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 1996, finishing in third against fellow Commissioners Alex Penelas and Arthur Teele. Ferré won 20% and did not make it to the runoff.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2001, Ferré lost his bid to be reelected Mayor of Miami.<ref>"Ego Without End Template:Webarchive." Miami New Times.</ref>

Ferré attempted his second run for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 2004; however, he won only 17.76% of the vote, and did not make the run-off.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Later years

Ferré was on a fellowship at Princeton University and was writing a book about the contributions that Hispanics have made to American culture. Ferré was one of the driving forces behind the intermestic (an abbreviation of international and domestic) dialogue, which attempts to seek consensus regarding Puerto Rico's political status problem from both an international and domestic vantage point. He spoke about this effort to deal with Puerto Rico's political status in an address to the Puerto Rico Senate as keynote speaker during the Governors' Day special session on February 16, 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2009, Ferré announced that he was running for the open U.S. Senate seat of Mel Martinez.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He finished in fourth place (last place) in the Democratic primary, with only 4.9% of the vote.<ref>2010 United States Senate election in Florida</ref>Template:Circular reference

Ferré is sometimes referred to as the "father of modern-day Miami." To pay tribute to him and his legacy, a park district in Miami, formerly called Museum Park, was named after him in early 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="MH Sept 20, 2019">Template:Cite news</ref>

Ferré died in Miami on September 19, 2019, from spinal cancer. He was 84 years of age. He was buried at Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum in Miami.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans