Governor Juan Francisco Luis

JUAN FRANCISCO LUIS was born in Vieques, Puerto Rico, in 1940. When he was two months old, the family moved to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Luis earned an equivalency in pre-medicine from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. After returning to St. Croix, he became a sixth-grade teacher at the Christiansted Public Grammar School. He also worked briefly as a project office manager for the Department of Housing and Urban Development before he served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army. In 1968, Luis worked as a personnel administrative officer in the Virgin Islands Department of Health. From 1970 to 1972, he worked for Litwin Corporation as an industrial relations manager; for Burns International as an accountant; and for the Estate Carlton Hotel as a personnel manager and comptroller. Luis was elected to the Virgin Islands Senate in 1972. In 1974, he was elected lieutenant governor and was sworn in as governor on January 2, 1978, following the death of Cyril King. He was elected governor in November 1978. Juan Luis died June 4, 2011.