FERR, LUIS A.

born Feb. 17, 1904, Ponce, Puerto Rico in full Luis Alberto Ferr governor of Puerto Rico (196973) and founder of the New Progressive Party. Ferr held a master's degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist. His first political office was as representative-at-large in the Legislative Assembly from 1953 to 1957. At that time he was a member of the Statehood Republican Party. He ran unsuccessfully against Governor Luis Muoz Marn in 1956 and 1960 and lost again to the Popular Democrats' candidate, Roberto Snchez Vilella, in 1964. He left the Statehood Republican Party in 1967 and formed the New Progressive Party. Aided by a split in the Popular Democratic Party, Ferr was elected governor in 1968, thus ending the Popular Democrats' 20-year control of the governorship and their 28-year domination of the legislature. As governor he increased workers' wages and benefits and began development projects in the southwest region of Puerto Rico which included the construction of roads, beaches, an airport, and copper mines. He also undertook programs to modernize agriculture. Ferr was defeated in his bid for a second term by the Popular Democrat Rafael Hernndez Coln, whose party also recovered control of the legislature.