Ferre << feh REH >>, Maurice (1935-2019), became the first Hispanic mayor of a large United States city when he took office as mayor of Miami in 1973. He was appointed to the office after Mayor David Kennedy had been charged with planning to offer and receive bribes. Later that year, Ferre, a Democrat, was elected to the office. He was reelected to five additional terms, beginning in 1975. Ferre failed to win reelection in 1985. As mayor, he became a major force in extensive development of Miami’s downtown area. In 2001, Ferre ran again for mayor of Miami but lost the election. In 2010, Ferre was an unsuccessful candidate for his party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Maurice Antonio Ferre was born on June 23, 1935, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The son of a wealthy businessman, he earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from the University of Miami in 1957. He then worked in Miami in his family’s concrete and real estate business. In 1967, Ferre was elected to Florida’s House of Representatives, where he served until 1968. In 1967, he was appointed to the Miami City Commission. In 1993, Ferre was elected to the Dade County (now Miami-Dade County) Board of Commissioners. Miami covers much of Miami-Dade County. Ferre died on Sept. 19, 2019.
