Antonio José Colorado Laguna (born September 8, 1939) is an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He served as

Secretary of State of Puerto Rico The secretary of state of Puerto Rico () leads all efforts promoting the cultural, political, and economical relations between Puerto Rico and jurisdictions within the United States or foreign countries. It was created by Article IV of the Con ...

and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico for the administration of

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

Biography

Colorado attended elementary and high school in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. In 1962, he earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

and three years later graduated from the

University of Puerto Rico School of Law The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is the law school of the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System and the only public law school in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1913 at ...

with a ''

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

''. In 1966, he earned a

master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and was admitted to the Puerto Rican

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

. He is a member of

Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha (), commonly known as La Sigma, is a Puerto Rican fraternity originally established as the Sigma Delta Alpha Fraternity (Sociedad de Amigos) on October 22, 1928, at the University of Puerto Rico by twelve students and a professor ...

fraternity. From 1966 to 1968 he served as legal tax adviser to the

Puerto Rico Economic Development Administration The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) — (or simply ''Fomento'')— is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico authorized and empowered to attract private capital to Puerto Rico to establish trade, cooperatives, a ...

, and from 1968 to 1969 he served as the executive assistant to the economic development administrator of Puerto Rico. He began a

law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professio ...

in 1969, and became a member of the

Puerto Rico Tax Reform Commission Subcommittee Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

in 1973. In the late 1970s, in addition to his law practice, he lectured at both the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras and the

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has ...

. In 1985, then

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

, Rafael Hernández Colón, appointed Colorado to the post of administrator of economic development. From 1990 to 1992 he served as Secretary of State for Puerto Rico. In 1992, Colorado was appointed Resident Commissioner to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Jaime B. Fuster Jaime Benito Fuster Berlingeri (January 12, 1941 – December 3, 2007) was a politician who served as an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Justice Fuster, along with Justice Liana Fiol Matta, was considered the leading ...

, who was appointed

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico () is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme courts of the states of the United State ...

. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Colorado tried to address problems faced by Puerto Ricans, such as crime and

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

, and requested additional

medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

support for the Island. He was unsuccessful in his 1992 bid for election and returned to

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Local Redevelopment Authority for the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, a facility that was abandoned by the United States Navy after naval shelling practices ended in nearby Vieques, Puerto Rico.

External links

Hispanic Americans in Congress: Antonio J. Colorado

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado, Antonio 1939 births Boston University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Puerto Rico Harvard Law School alumni Living people Resident commissioners of Puerto Rico Secretaries of state of Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

See also

External links

References