Juan Francisco Luis

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Juan Francisco Luis
Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
In office
January 2, 1978 – January 5, 1987
LieutenantHenry Millin
Julio Brady
Preceded byCyril King
Succeeded byAlexander Farrelly
3rd Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
In office
January 6, 1975 – January 2, 1978
GovernorCyril King
Preceded byAthniel C. Ottley
Succeeded byHenry Millin
Personal details
Born(1940-07-10)July 10, 1940
Vieques, Puerto Rico
DiedJune 4, 2011(2011-06-04) (aged 70)
Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Political partyDemocratic (before 1974)
Independent Citizens Movement (1974–1978)
Independent (1978–2011)
SpouseLuz Guadalupe
Children2
EducationInteramerican University of Puerto Rico (BS)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Rank Sergeant

Juan Francisco Luis (July 10, 1940 – June 4, 2011) was a Puerto Rican-U.S. Virgin Islander politician who served as the third elected

U.S. Virgin Islands.[3][4]

Biography

Early years

Juan Francisco Luis was born July 10, 1940 on the neighboring island of

Vieques in Puerto Rico.[1] He moved with his family to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands—which has a sizeable Puerto Rican community—when he was two months old.[1] In 1958, Luis graduated from the former Christiansted High School as his class's valedictorian.[3][4]

He studied at the

U.S. Army.[3]

Luis was

honorably discharged from the Army in 1968 with the rank of sergeant.[3][4] He returned to St. Croix after his discharge, where he married his wife, the former Luz Maria Guadalupe.[3] In 1968, he became a personnel administrative officer in the Virgin Islands Department of Health.[5] Luis held several positions in the private sector from 1970 to 1972:[5] he worked for Litwin Corporation as an industrial relations manager,[5] for Burns International as an accountant,[5] and as a personnel manager and comptroller at the Estate Carlton Hotel.[5]

Political career

Luis was elected to the 10th

unicameral legislative body, in 1972, when he was 32 years old.[1][4]
He served a single two-year term as a Senator before seeking higher office in 1974.

Lieutenant governor

In 1974, gubernatorial candidate Cyril King, who had founded the Independent Citizens Movement (ICM) in the 1960s, persuaded Luis to join his ticket as his running mate for lieutenant governor.[1] King and Luis were elected as governor and lieutenant governor, defeating the Democratic ticket of Alexander Farrelly and Ruby Rouss.[1][4]

Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands

Governor King died of stomach cancer on January 2, 1978.[1] As lieutenant governor, Luis was sworn into office ten minutes after King's death to fill the remainder of his term.[2]

On February 21, 1978, Governor Luis appointed

banker Henry Millin, a Democrat, as his first lieutenant governor.[6] Millin was sworn in on March 10, 1978.[7] Later in 1978, Luis chose to run for a full term as governor as an independent, dropping his previous political affiliation with the ICM; Millin was his running mate.[4]

Luis and Millin were elected to a four-year term on November 7, 1978.

Christiansted.[9]

In 1982, Luis announced that he would seek re-election to a second full term. However, Millin chose to challenge Luis in the election.[4] Luis needed a new running mate and he selected Julio Brady to replace Millin on the ticket.[4]

Luis was re-elected on November 2, 1982, in a five-candidate race.

runoff;[10] Luis would have fallen just short of 50% if blank and spoiled ballots were counted.[10] A lower court in the Virgin Islands agreed with those arguing for a runoff and ordered the blank and spoiled ballots to be counted, which brought Luis below 50%.[10] However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia rejected the lower court ruling and allowed blank and spoiled ballots to be excluded, giving Luis a majority of the total votes cast.[10]
Luis and Lt. Governor Julio Brady were sworn in January 3, 1983.

Luis created a new office, the federal programs coordinator, which worked to better coordinate federal funding and cultivate better relations with U.S. federal agencies, such as the Office of Insular Affairs.

health care system during his time in office.[3] Luis successfully lobbied for federal funding that was used to construct most of the U.S. Virgin Islands' modern hospitals, including the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital & Medical Center on St. Croix, the Myrah Keating Smith Clinic on St. John and the Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas.[3] In education, Luis abolished the practice of holding two separate sessions of school at the same school during the day.[3]

He spearheaded the expansion of the

container terminal on St. Croix.[4] The first desalination plant was constructed by the V.I. Water and Power Authority during Luis' administration.[4]

Luis was also credited with launching the political careers of some of the U.S. Virgin Islands' most prominent politicians.[4] They included former Senator Holland Redfield, whom he appointed to the Public Services Commission and encouraged to run for the Legislature in 1984, and Governor John de Jongh Jr., whom Luis nominated to the V.I. Industrial Development Commission, which launched de Jongh's career in public service.[4]

Luis was barred from seeking a third consecutive term in the 1986 gubernatorial election due to

term limits.[1] He was succeeded by Alexander Farrelly
on January 5, 1987.

Later life

In 1990, Luis once again ran for election as governor. However, he was defeated by his successor Alexander Farrelly, who won re-election.[1]

Luis was hospitalized at the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital & Medical Center on

Christiansted.[3] He was buried at Kingshill Cemetery in Kingshill following a graveside service, which included a full military tribute by the Virgin Islands National Guard.[3]

Luis was survived by his wife, former First Lady Luz Maria Guadalupe Luis; their children, Carlotta Amalia Luis and Juan Francisco Luis Jr.; his sister, Lydia Cintron-Monell; and two brothers, Carlos Monell and Esteban Monell, Jr.[3]

He died less than a week after the passing of another U.S. Virgin Islands political figure, former Lt. Governor Derek Hodge.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bauer, John (2011-06-05). "Former Gov. Juan F. Luis Dies at 70". St. Croix Source. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  2. ^ a b "First Black Senate Staff Member Dies". Associated Press. Charlotte Observer-Reporter. 1978-01-04. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kossler, Bill (2011-06-15). "Former Gov. Luis Laid to Rest on St. Croix". St. Thomas Source. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  4. ^
    Virgin Islands Daily News. Archived from the original
    on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Virgin Islands Governor Juan Francisco Luis". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  6. Virgin Islands Daily News
    . Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  7. Virgin Islands Daily News
    . 1978-03-13. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  8. ^
    Virgin Islands Daily News
    . Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  9. Virgin Islands Daily News
    . Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Virgin Islands Runoff Not Needed". Associated Press. St. Joseph News-Press. 1982-11-25. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  11. Virgin Islands Daily News. Archived from the original
    on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
Political offices
Preceded by
Governor of the United States Virgin Islands

1978–1987 		Succeeded by
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