Michael Warren Cruz (born September 8, 1958) is a Guamanian surgeon and former politician who served as the eighth

lieutenant governor of Guam The Guamanian self-governing government consists of a locally elected List of Governors of Guam, governor, List of current United States lieutenant governors, lieutenant governor and a fifteen-member Legislature of Guam, Legislature. The first p ...

from January 1, 2007 to January 3, 2011. In 2023, he was appointed adjutant general of the Guam National Guard.

Biography

Personal life

Cruz was born on September 8, 1958, a son of Miguel de Gracia Cruz and Rosalinda Quinata. His father was Chamorro while his mother was Filipino. He has three children from his first marriage: Shaunn, Mika’ele and Christine. Cruz is currently married to his second wife, Jennifer Rosario Cruz. The couple have two daughters, Taylor & Bella, as well as Rosario Cruz's son, Christian, from her previous relationship. Cruz received 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 ...

in biology from Walla Walla College in

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. He obtained a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

from

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Military

Cruz is a colonel in the Guam Army National Guard. He is a veteran of

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. Cruz volunteered as a commander in the Rapid Advanced Medical Team during the Iraq War, serving from 2003 to 2004. He was a recipient of the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

for his tour of duty in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. In March 2023, the governor of Guam appointed Cruz as adjutant general of Guam's National Guard.

Medical career

Cruz is a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, and served as the medical director of the

Guam Memorial Hospital Guam Memorial Hospital is a rural general hospital located in Tamuning, Guam and is the only public hospital serving the island of Guam. The hospital has 161 licensed acute care beds, plus 40 beds at its off-site, long-term care Skilled Nursing F ...

. He is a member of the

American Board of Surgery The American Board of Surgery (ABS) is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge. Surgeons cert ...

, and the American Society of Breast Surgeons, and a

Fellow of the American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a Professional association, professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded i ...

Political career

Cruz was elected as a Republican Senator in the 28th Guamanian Legislature from 2005 to 2006. He served on the legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, authoring legislation to combat

childhood obesity Childhood obesity is a condition where excess adipose tissue, body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on Body mass index, BMI. ...

in Guam. He was elected

Lieutenant Governor of Guam The Guamanian self-governing government consists of a locally elected List of Governors of Guam, governor, List of current United States lieutenant governors, lieutenant governor and a fifteen-member Legislature of Guam, Legislature. The first p ...

in November 2006 as the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

of Governor

Felix Perez Camacho Felix James Pérez Camacho (born October 30, 1957) is an American politician and businessman who served as the seventh governor of Guam from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Guam, he had previously served as a six-term senator in ...

. Cruz took office on January 1, 2007.

Cruz-Espaldon Campaign

Cruz declared his candidacy for the 2010 gubernatorial election and was a candidate in the September 2010 Republican primary. His

for lieutenant governor was Senator Jim Espaldon. Cruz was defeated by

Eddie Baza Calvo Edward Jerome Baza Calvo (born August 29, 1961) is an American politician who served as the eighth governor of Guam from January 3, 2011 to January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Calvo was a five-term Senator within the Legislature ...

in the Republican

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

on September 3, 2010.

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Michael W. 1958 births Chamorro people Guam National Guard personnel Guamanian people of Filipino descent Guamanian physicians Guamanian Republicans Lieutenant governors of Guam Living people Loma Linda University alumni Members of the Legislature of Guam National Guard (United States) colonels United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Walla Walla University alumni People from Hågat, Guam 21st-century American physicians 21st-century Guamanian politicians