Castro, Raul << KAS troh, rah OOL >> Hector, (1916-2015), served as governor of Arizona from 1975 to 1977. Castro, a Democrat, was the first Mexican American to hold that office. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed him to serve as United States ambassador to Argentina. Castro held that office until 1980.
Castro was born on June 12, 1916, in Cananea, Mexico. His family moved to Pirtleville, Arizona, in 1926, and Castro became a U.S. citizen in 1939. He graduated from Arizona State Teachers’ College (now Northern Arizona University) and earned a law degree from the University of Arizona.
From 1949 to 1955, Castro practiced law in Tucson, Arizona, and served as an assistant attorney for Pima County. He became county attorney in 1955 and was judge of the Pima County Superior Court from 1959 to 1964.
Castro served as ambassador to El Salvador from 1964 to 1968 and to Bolivia in 1968 and 1969. He practiced law in Arizona from 1970 until he became governor and again after he returned from Argentina. Castro died on April 10, 2015.
