Draft:Carlos J. Lastra

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Carlos J. Lastra (August 4, 1919 – August 20, 2005) was the former Secretary of State (and Lieutenant Governor) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1965 to 1967, and the first Secretary of Commerce of the Commonwealth from 1961 to 1965.

Dr. Lastra was a tenured professor of economics at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Social Sciences, Rio Piedras Campus, in San Juan, P.R., where he taught economics and other related subjects for many years. He also served as Chancellor of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, San German, P.R., Campus, in and around 1966-1968.

He was President of his own economics consulting firm, "Lastra y Asociados" in Santurce, P.R. After retiring from academia, he was appointed as a bankruptcy trustee for the District of Puerto Rico, handling numerous complex bankruptcy cases for several years before retiring around 2002. Dr. Lastra married Mrs. Idalia Margarita De Leon-Colon on April 19, 1947. They were married for 58 years and had five children: Amir Lastra, Sarai Lastra Aponte, the late Juan Carlos Lastra, Daniel Lastra, and David Lastra. Dr. Lastra and has four grandchildren: Yahir A. Santiago-Lastra, Guillermo Santiago-Lastra, Emma C. Lastra-Wukovits, and Kaitlyn B. Lastra-Wukovits.

Early Years

Born poor in the "Barrio of Bélgica" in Ponce, P.R. as Carlos Juan Lastra Gonzalez, Dr. Lastra went to grade school in the southern part of Puerto Rico in the 1920s but did not immediately finish high school.

Dr. Lastra was the only child of the late Francisco Lastra and Margarita Gonzalez. His father abandoned the family when "Carlos Juan" (as his mother used to call him) was very young. To support his mother and himself, Dr. Lastra began working at the age of 14, delivering bread for a bakery in Ponce.

From 1938 to 1943, Dr. Lastra worked as a purchasing agent for the "Hospital Supply Co. (now the Puerto Rico Hospital Supply, Inc.), distributing medical supplies at hospitals and doctors' offices. During this time, he contracted Tuberculosis (TB). He survived the disease after a long treatment and recovery period. As result of having had TB, he was not qualified to serve in the military during World War II.

Education

In 1947, at the age of 28, Dr. Lastra obtained a High School Diploma in Accounting from the Puerto Rico School of Commerce, a vocational school in Santurce, P.R. He was the accounting class Valedictorian. After his graduation, he worked as an accountant with local accountant Julio Rodriguez of San Juan in 1947-1948, and later for Procter & Gamble in 1948-1949 where he became the company's head accountant. After attending a few classes at the Evangelical Seminar in San Juan for some time, he was admitted to the Economics Department of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus in 1950 (at the age of 31). Dr. Lastra won a Gold Medal as the best student in the Economics Department of the University of Puerto Rico in 1954 and received a full merit scholarship to pursue graduate studies. He applied and was admitted to the Economics Department at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dr. Lastra began graduate studies at Harvard in 1954. He received a master's degree in economics in 1956. After his graduation, he returned to Puerto Rico in 1957, joining the Faculty of the University of Puerto Rico College of Social Sciences as a professor, while remotely continuing to pursue his Ph.D. from Harvard.

Dr. Lastra's doctoral dissertation, "The Impact of Minimum Wages on a Labor-Oriented Industry," was submitted to the Department of Economics at Harvard University as part of his Ph.D. requirements.

He defended the doctoral dissertation in front of a group of preeminent professors including the economist, diplomat, and prolific author John Kenneth Galbraith, and the 1973 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, Wassily Leontief.

In 1961, Harvard University awarded Dr. Lastra the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics.

Dr. Lastra wrote a weekly financial news column called "Pulso Económico" (Economic Pulse) in the daily newspaper EL MUNDO. His criticism of certain economic policies of the Commonwealth drew the attention of then Governor Luis Muñoz Marin. "The interest of the Governor increased upon meeting Dr. Lastra, and in March 1961 invited the outspoken professor into his cabinet as Secretary of Commerce —a department which was not yet in existence."

Career as Secretary of Commerce (1961–1965)

Following the enactment of the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 by Congress, the Governor of Puerto Rico Luis Muñoz Marin appointed Dr. Lastra as the first Secretary of Commerce from 1961-1965.

Dr. Lastra set up the Department of Commerce and took immediate interest in aiding small businesses get started. The results of Dr. Lastra's work were remarkable, including coordinating "millions of dollars of commercial loans processed through commercial banks, thousands of requests for aid and advice answered, hundreds of small business establishments reorganized, and modernized through counseling and technical aid, and uncounted business workers made more efficient through marketing courses."

Dr. Lastra came up with the idea of having the government assist private developers build commercial facilities around the island. His visionary ideas helped create department stores, large wholesale warehouses and several shopping centers throughout the island. According to the local National Association of Accountants, Dr. Lastra "was a very dedicated man whose ideals, talents and initiative complement[ed] ideally the needs and aspirations of Puerto Rico — a community synonymous with dedication and progress." He also received numerous accolades and recognitions from industry and many small businesses. Career as Secretary of State and Lt. Governor (1965–1967) After Governor Muñoz Marin retired, the newly elected Governor, Roberto Sanchez-Villella selected Dr. Lastra as Puerto Rico's Lt. Governor and Secretary of State from 1965-1967. After his appointment to lead the Department of State, Dr. Lastra said, "I feel deeply honored by this new proof of confidence from Governor Sanchez Vilella. I'll try to do my best at my new job, as I did as Secretary of Commerce. I believe there is no big or small job in government. We are all committed to render the best service each of us is capable of."

During his tenure as Secretary of State, Dr. Lastra considered himself a member of a new generation of leaders in Puerto Rico. He visualized Puerto Rico as the economic center of the Caribbean community and foresaw its role as a growing force in world trade and in the international political arena. Dr. Lastra resigned as Secretary of State in 1967 and resumed his academic career as an economics professor at the University of Puerto Rico. He continued to teach for many years. Career after Public Service In addition to his career in academia, Dr. Lastra was President of his private economics firm, "Lastra y Asociados" (Lastra & Associates), in which he produced numerous financial analysis reports for economic development projects for the Government of Puerto Rico and private organizations. Bankruptcy Trustee (1986–2003) Dr. Lastra was a Member of the federal Panel of Bankruptcy Trustees in Puerto Rico from 1986-2003, and served as a Bankruptcy Trustee in numerous complex cases during those years. Christian Ministry Dr. Lastra was devout Christian and a Bible scholar. He gave numerous speeches and led numerous Bible studies in different churches in Puerto Rico. One of his favorite Bible passages is Job 19:25-26 ("I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God"). Among many other engagements throughout his life, he was a delegate to the World Congress of Evangelism in Berlin (1966), President of the Latin American Congress in Evangelism, and a Member of the Global Mission of Dr. Billy Graham. Dr. Lastra represented the Puerto Rico Evangelical Ministry in various Prayer's Breakfasts organized by the White House in Washington, D.C. Dr. Lastra received Doctoral degrees, honoris causa, from the Grace Theological Seminar in Valley Forge, Pa., and from the "National Evangelical College" of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. In his later years, Dr. Lastra continued to minister and conduct Bible studies. He passed away peacefully in San Juan, on August 20, 2005.