Francisco Dominico "Frans" Figaroa (3 September 1927 – 6 October 1993) was an

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

n politician who served as

Lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of Aruba from 1979 until 1982, figaroa previously served as President of the

Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles The Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles (; ), also translated as the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles, was the parliament of the Netherlands Antilles. It comprised 22 members, elected for a four-year term in three multi-seat constituencies a ...

(1973-1979) and Minister of Education of the

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

(1961-1962), Figaroa also served as chairman of the Aruba Football Federation and chairman of the

Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, (; ) generally abbreviated NAOC was a member of the IOC from 1950 to 2011. It constituted the National Olympic Committee of the dissolved country Netherlands Antilles which consisted of the islands Arub ...

Early life

Figaroa studied

meer uitgebreid lager onderwijs Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs ( Dutch, "more advanced primary education") was during part of the twentieth century a level of education in the Netherlands, Suriname and the Dutch East Indies. The system was comparable with the junior high school ...

at Saint Dominicus College in Oranjestad. He then worked for several months at

Lago Oil and Transport Company Lago Oil & Transport Co. Ltd. was established in 1924 as a shipping company responsible for transporting crude oil from Lake Maracaibo to its transshipment facility on the island of Aruba. The Lago refinery, a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Compan ...

. In 1944 he joined the civil service where he worked in administration at the Water and Energy Company Aruba for 5 years, after which he worked in administration and mortgages. In 1949 he got a diploma in English correspondence, in 1952 he followed a course in administration of buildings, and in 1957 he got a diploma in Spanish.“Frans Figaroa gezaghebber”
Amigoe, 30 November 1979, reviewed on 28 March 2019

Political career

From 1 June 1961 until 2 November 1962 Figaroa was Minister for Education of the Netherlands Antilles in the Second Jonckheer cabinet, for the Union Nacional Arubano (UNA). Afterwards from 1963 until 1967 he was a member of the Island council of Aruba. In 1971, Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo (MEP) was created as a new political party on the island of

. In the 1973, election the MEP gained 5 out of the 8 seats designated to Aruba in the

parliament of the Netherlands Antilles The Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles (; ), also translated as the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles, was the parliament of the Netherlands Antilles. It comprised 22 members, elected for a four-year term in three multi-seat constituencies a ...

, and became the largest party. As such in 1975 Figaroa was elected chairman of the parliament of the

.Gesprek Vondeling met voorzitters staten begonnen
Amigoe, 18 September 1975, reviewed on 14 January 2017 During his tenure

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, another country within the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

, became independent. Figaroa lead the envoy of Netherlands Antilles representatives during the Suriname independence debates in the Dutch

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. In preparation of these debates Figaroa hosted the chair of the Dutch House of Representatives, Anne Vondeling, and the chair of the parliament of Suriname,

Emile Wijntuin Emile Linus Alfred Wijntuin (22 September 1924 – 7 May 2020) was a Surinamese politician who served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Suriname from 1975 until the aftermath of the 1980 Surinamese coup d'état. Wijntuin was a member of t ...

, in September 1975, since the Netherlands Antilles was considered a neutral party in these discussions. From 1979 until 1982, Figaroa was lieutenant governor of Aruba ( Dutch: ''gezaghebber''). The lieutenant governor of Aruba was the highest official on the island, and worked together with the governor of the Netherlands Antilles, who was stationed on the island of Curacao. The lieutenant governor was chair of the Island council and lead the islands executive office. He represented Aruba in court, was head of law enforcement, and represented both the Dutch government and the government of the Netherlands Antilles. Queen

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "ble ...

, together with her husband prince Claus, visited the Netherlands Antilles from 28 October until 8 November 1980, as her first official visit as queen. On 29 October they visited Aruba, where they were received by lieutenant governor Figaroa. The queen lay the first stone for the new National Library of Aruba and lent her name to the local airport,

Queen Beatrix International Airport Queen Beatrix International Airport (; ) Is an international airport located in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba. It has flight services to the United States, Canada, several countries in the Caribbean, the northern coastal countries of Sout ...

. In 1986, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles and became a country within the

. From 1986 until his death in 1993, Figaroa was a member of the newly created ''Advisory Council of Aruba''. This council advises the Aruban government and parliament on cases of law and government. Figaroa was a member of the

Latin American Parliament The Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (''Parlatino'') is a regional, permanent organisation bringing together parliamentarians from Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a consultative assembly made up of national parliamentarians, simil ...

, serving on the ''education, culture, science, technology and communication committee''.“Ex-gezaghebber Frans Figaroa (65) overleden”
Amigoe, 6 October 1993, reviewed on 28 March 2019

Sports

Figaroa was founder of SV Jong Aruba, chair of the Aruba Football Federation and chair of the

Honours

In 1980, Figaroa was created an officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

.Lintjesregen daalde neer

Reformatorisch Dagblad The ''Reformatorisch Dagblad'' (; "Reformed Daily") is a Dutch Protestant newspaper with a circulation of around 60,000, headquartered in Apeldoorn. The conservative newspaper was founded in 1971 and is associated with the Reformed Political Party ...

, 29 April 1980, page 9; on Digibron, Knowledge Centre for the Reformed Community, reviewed on 14 January 2017 The Frans Figaroa sports complex (

Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; ) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao ( ABC Islands). The language, spelled in Aruba and in Bonaire and ...

: ''Centro Deportiva Frans Figaroa'') in the city of

Noord Noord () is a town and region in Aruba (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). This town is known for its low rise and high rise hotels, restaurants, beaches, malls, the California Lighthouse, and other places of attraction. Places of interes ...

was named after him. At the sports complex stands a bust of Figaroa. A 6-kilometer part of the highway route 2 on Aruba was named after him, the ''Caya Frans Figaroa''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figaroa, Frans 1927 births 1993 deaths Governors of Aruba People's Electoral Movement (Aruba) politicians Speakers of the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles