Tania Viera Martínez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Viera and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.

Tania Viera Martínez
Director of the Puerto Rico Automobile Accident Compensation Administration
In office 1977–1984
Governor	Carlos Romero Barceló
Rector of the San Juan Community College
Secretary of Education of Puerto Rico
In office 1972–1972
Governor	Luis A. Ferré
Preceded by	Ramón Mellado Parsons
Succeeded by	Celeste Benítez Rivera
Personal details
Born	March 27, 1922 Gurabo, Puerto Rico
Died	January 5, 2007 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Puerto Rico (BA) New York University (M.Ed.) Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law (JD)
Occupation	Educator, lawyer

Tania Viera Martínez (March 27, 1922 – January 5, 2007) was a Puerto Rican educator and lawyer who served as the executive director of the Puerto Rico Automobile Accident Compensation Administration from 1977 to 1984. In 1972, she became the first woman Secretary of Education of Puerto Rico. Viera Martínez later served as the rector of San Juan Community College.

Early life and education

Tania Viera Martínez was born in Gurabo, Puerto Rico on March 27 to Alejandrina Martínez and Nieves Viera. She had 9 siblings. Viera Martínez graduated with honors from Central High School. She attended the University of Puerto Rico in the faculty of education.

Viera Martínez later completed a M.A. in higher education and student affairs at the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She took night classes, part-time, at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law, completing a Juris Doctor in 1969.

Career

Viera Martínez worked as a schoolteacher in the rural regions of Gurabo. She returned to San Juan in the 1950s and 1960s where she worked as a professor, high school principal, and superintendent in the Puerto Rico Department of Education (DEPR).

After completing her master's degree, Viera Martínez became the director of the editorial division at the DEPR. She was the advisor to the Secretary of Education of Puerto Rico and served as the undersecretary for Ramón Mellado Parsons. She was named by Governor Luis A. Ferré as Secretary of Education in 1972. She was the first woman to hold the position in Puerto Rico.

In 1973, the San Juan Mayor, Carlos Romero Barceló, named her the municipality's director of students where she oversaw the city's Head Start program. Viera Martínez later became the rector of the San Juan Community College.

In 1977, Viera Martínez was named executive director of the Puerto Rico Automobile Accident Compensation Administration by Governor Romero Barceló. She served in this role until 1984.

Personal life

Tania Viera Martínez married Raúl Torres González, a lawyer, in 1945. She also went by the married name Tania Viera de Torres. They had a daughter and son.