Sergio Peña Clos (June 13, 1927 – March 20, 2018) was a Puerto Rican politician and

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

. He was a member of the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de 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 ...

from 1980 to 2004.

Early years and studies

Sergio Peña Clos was born on June 13, 1927, on

Humacao Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, to Dr. Sergio Peña Almodóvar and Maria Clos Ribót. He finished the eighth grade at the Ponce de León public school in his hometown, and graduated from high school from the Colegio San José in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

at the age of fourteen. With only 15 years, Peña Clos enrolled at the University of St. Louis in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, where he studied for three years. He then returned to Puerto Rico and in 1951, he finished his

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

in social science at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5, ...

. In 1955, he graduated as an attorney from the

University of Puerto Rico School of Law The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It w ...

Professional career

At age 21, Peña Clos was a judicial adviser to judge Julio Suárez Garriga. At the age of 23, he opened his own

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded i ...

working as a criminal lawyer. In 1960, while working at the

Puerto Rico Bar Association The Bar Association of Puerto Rico (BAPR) or ''Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico (CAPR)'' is the bar association of Puerto Rico. It is the oldest professional association in Puerto Rico, and among the oldest bar associations in the world. The ...

, Peña Clos became interested in the case of Salvador Agron ("The Capeman") and Tony Hernández ("Umbrella Man"), two Puerto Rican gang members (aged 16 and 15 respectively) accused of murdering two innocent teenagers and sentenced to

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ( ...

. Peña Clos appeared at the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

as a friend of the court, analyzing the case. Peña Clos also met with Governor

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

, and eventually Agrón's death sentence was eliminated, while Hernández' sentence was revoked. In 1975, Peña Clos was named member and Vice President of the Civil Rights Commission of the Government of Puerto Rico. He remained in the commission until 1977.

Political career

First terms as Senator with the PPD: 1980-1996

Peña Clos began his political career in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

when he was elected to the

for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). During that term, he was elected as

President pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being" ...

of the Senate, under Miguel Hernández Agosto. Peña Clos was reelected in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

and continued to serve as president pro tempore until 1988. Peña Clos was again reelected in the elections of 1988 and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

Senator with the PNP: 1996-2000

Peña Clos left the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and joined the New Progressive Party (PNP) appearing in their ballot as Senator for the

1996 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1996. * 1995–1996 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 1996 Beninese presidential election * 1996 Comorian presidential election * 1996 New Zealand general election * 1996 Nicaraguan general electio ...

. He was reelected once again and presided the Commission of Government Ethics and the Special Commission on the Events of the

Cerro Maravilla incident The Cerro Maravilla murders, also known as the Cerro Maravilla massacre, occurred on July 25, 1978, at Cerro Maravilla, a mountain in Ponce, Puerto Rico,

Independent senator and return to the PPD: 2000-2004

Peña Clos was again reelected in 2000 with the New Progressive Party. However, he left the party in the middle of his term and declared himself an independent senator. He finished the term returning to the Popular Democratic Party. He presented his candidacy under the PPD for the 2003 primaries, but lost.

Later years: 2004-2018

Peña Clos continued working as an attorney. He also collaborated as a political commentator in television and radio shows. He died on March 20, 2018, at the age of 90.

Personal life

Peña Clos was married to Zoraida Ortiz Rivera, who was almost 40 years younger. In 2005, the senator was accused of domestic violence against Ortiz, but a jury absolved him of the charge.

References

External links

Biografía Sergio Peña Clos
on SenadoPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Sergio 1927 births 2018 deaths Colegio San José alumni People from Humacao, Puerto Rico Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Puerto Rico Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni