Roberto Nicolás Rexach Benítez (December 18, 1929 – April 4, 2012) also known as his stage name Bobby, was a Puerto Rican politician, and former

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and Representative. Rexach Benítez served as the tenth President of the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of ...

from 1993 to 1996. He also served as a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

from 1973 to 1976, under the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and as a member of the Senate (1985–1998) under the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP). Prior to his legislative career, he was the first director of the

University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo The University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (UPRA or UPR Arecibo) is a public college in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico. UPR-Arecibo was previously the (CRA, 'Arecibo Regional College') and (CUTA, 'Arecibo Techn ...

(1967–1970) and

University of Puerto Rico at Humacao The University of Puerto Rico-Humacao (, UPRH or UPR-Humacao) is a public college in Humacao, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico. Its campus is home to the UPRH Astronomical Observatory and the college graduates more majors ...

(1961–1967). He served in the

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG; ) is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions, which includes to provide ...

from 1948 to 1953 with the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Early years and studies

Rexach Benítez was born on December 18, 1929, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, to Puerto Rican parents. He was raised in Puerto Rico, studying elementary school in Juncos and

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

. He graduated from high school in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

. In 1951, Rexach Benítez received his

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 social science from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

. A year later, he finished his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in political science from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He also completed two years of studies at 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 ...

Professional career

Rexach Benítez worked as a professor of Political Science at the

in 1958. That same year, he was appointed Aide to the Dean of Administration. From 1961 to 1967, he served as Director and Dean of the Humacao Regional University College. After that, he worked at the same position at the Arecibo Regional University College until 1970.

Political career

In 1973, Rexach Benítez was elected to the

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 ...

under the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). Some years later, he joined the opposing party, the New Progressive Party or New Party for Progress. In 1980, he worked as an aide to the President of the

, and from 1981 to 1985, he worked as an adviser to Governor

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He als ...

. In 1984, Rexach was elected as

At-large at the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. After being sworn in, he was chosen as his party's Minority Leader. In 1988, he was reelected and ratified as NPP Minority Leader. He was again reelected at the 1992 elections, and was chosen the 10th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico by his fellow senators. He was sworn in as such on January 11, 1993 and stayed in that position until 1996 when he was reelected as Senator At-large.

Later years

After retiring from politics, Rexach Benítez served as an educational consultant. He also wrote a weekly column for ''

El Vocero ''El Vocero de Puerto Rico'' is a Puerto Rican free newspaper that is published in San Juan. Published since 1974, ''El Vocero'' was at first the third of the four largest Puerto Rico newspapers, trailing '' El Mundo'' and '' El Nuevo Día'' and ...

'' newspaper. He also authored several books and

essays An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

. Some of them are: * "Un sistema de elecciones primarias para Puerto Rico" (1954) * "Pedro Albizu Campos, leyenda y realidad" (1959) * "Puerto Rico, un pueblo en la encrucijada" (1964) * "La educación universitaria, lujo o necesidad" He died April 4, 2012, at his home in

Arecibo, Puerto Rico Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

from pulmonary complications traced to 40 years of heavy cigarette smoking. During a memorial service on April 5, 2012, before his remains were cremated, he was eulogized by Secretary of State

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s N ...

on behalf of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Fortuño,

Puerto Rico Senate The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Thomas Rivera Schatz Thomas Rivera Schatz (born June 10, 1966) is a Puerto Rican politician, legal advisor, attorney, and former prosecutor, who was the fourteenth, sixteenth and is currently the eighteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He is affiliated ...

and

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Jorge Santini Jorge Santini Padilla (born March 11, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who previously served as the mayor of San Juan. State Service In 1975, Santini became a member of the United States Marines Air Cadets Corps. At present, he is lieutena ...

. On April 9, the last of five days of official mourning declared by Governor Fortuño, a mass was held at San Agustín Church in San Juan at which Rexach was once again eulogized by McClintockhttps://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150655344446338 and Rivera Schatz, in their capacities as immediate past and present Senate presidents at the time.

References

External links

Biografía de Roberto Rexach Benítez
on SenadoPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Rexach Benitez, Roberto 1929 births 2012 deaths Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico National Guard (United States) officers New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Presidents of the Senate of Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico National Guard personnel University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Puerto Rico alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico