Piñero, Jesús Toribio, << peen YEH roh, hay ZOOS tohr EE bee oh >> (1897-1952), was governor of Puerto Rico from 1946 to 1949. He was the first native Puerto Rican to hold that office. The United States gained possession of Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898. The island became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States in 1952. Piñero was a member of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), a political party that today supports continued commonwealth status for Puerto Rico.
Piñero was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, on April 16, 1897. He attended the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Puerto Rico for two years. He then spent two years studying engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. When Piñero returned to Puerto Rico, he became a sugar-cane and dairy farmer.
Piñero began his political career in 1928, when he was elected to the Municipal Assembly of Carolina. He served as the assembly’s president. In 1933, Piñero became president of the Association of Sugar Cane Farmers of Puerto Rico. He held the position until 1937. In 1938, he became a founding member of the PPD. Piñero was elected to the Puerto Rican House of Representatives in 1940 and served there until 1944. He was elected resident commissioner of Puerto Rico in 1944 and took office in 1945. The resident commissioner represents Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress.
In 1946, U.S. President Harry S. Truman appointed Piñero to replace Rexford Guy Tugwell as governor of Puerto Rico. Piñero took office as the United States was entering the Cold War , a period of tension between non-Communist and Communist nations. As governor, he supported local legislation that was consistent with U.S. Cold War policies.
In 1947, Congress enacted the Elective Governor Act , which allowed Puerto Ricans to elect their governor in local popular elections. In November 1948, Puerto Ricans elected Luis Muñoz Marín to replace Piñero as governor.
From 1947 to 1951, Piñero served as a U.S. representative to the Caribbean Commission. The commission was formed in 1942 to address social and economic issues in the Caribbean region. Piñero died in Puerto Rico on Nov. 19, 1952.
