Maurice Ferré

{{Short description|American politician and former Mayor of Miami (1935–2019)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Maurice Antonio Ferré | image = Maurice Ferre 2009.jpg | caption = portrait photograph, 2009 | birth_date = {{birth date|1935|06|23}} | birth_place = Ponce, Puerto Rico | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|09|19|1935|06|23}} | death_place = Miami, Florida, U.S. | resting_place = Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum | office = Mayor of Miami | term_start = November 8, 1973 | term_end = November 14, 1985 | preceded = David T. Kennedy | succeeded = Xavier Suarez | term_label1 = Interim | term_start1 = April 19, 1973 | term_end1 = August 17, 1973 | preceded1 = David T. Kennedy | succeeded1 = David T. Kennedy | office2 = Vice Chairman of the Dade County Commission | term_start2 = 1993 | term_end2 = 1996 | preceded2 = | succeeded2 = | office3 = Member of the Dade County Commission<br>from district 7 | term_start3 = May 1, 1993 | term_end3 = January 3, 1997 | preceded3 = ''Constituency established'' | succeeded3 = Jimmy Morales | office4 = Member of the Miami City Commission | term_start4 = 1967 | term_end4 = 1970 | constituency4 = 3rd at-large seat | preceded4 = Stephen P. Clark | succeeded4 = J. L. Plummer | office5 = Member of the Florida House of Representatives<br>from the 91st district | term_start5 = April 4, 1967 | term_end5 = March 1, 1968 | preceded5 = | succeeded5 = | party = Democrat | children = 6 | spouse = Mercedes Ferré<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anylaw.com/case/maurice-a-ferre-and-mercedes-m-ferre-v-city-national-bank-miami/district-court-of-appeal-of-florida/07-25-1989/rqh6SWYBTlTomsSBDNc4|title=MAURICE A. FERRE AND MERCEDES M. FERRE v. CITY NATIONAL BANK MIAMI | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 07-25-1989 | www.anylaw.com|date=August 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822011259/https://www.anylaw.com/case/maurice-a-ferre-and-mercedes-m-ferre-v-city-national-bank-miami/district-court-of-appeal-of-florida/07-25-1989/rqh6SWYBTlTomsSBDNc4 |accessdate=June 29, 2023|archive-date=August 22, 2022 }}</ref> | occupation = Politician | alma_mater = University of Miami (BS, MBA) | website = }}

'''Maurice Antonio Ferré''' (June 23, 1935 – September 19, 2019) was an American politician and businessman who served six terms as the Mayor of Miami (1973–1985). Ferré was the first Latino person to serve as mayor of Miami. He also served on the Dade County Board of Commissioners (1993–1997), Florida House of Representatives (1967–1968), and Miami City Commission (1967–1970). He unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 1996 and 2004. In 2001, he unsuccessfully ran for city mayor again. He was a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, unsuccessfully seeking the Democratic nomination.

==Early years, family, and education== Ferré was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico.<ref name="SunshineStateObit">{{cite web |title=Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre Dies at Age 84 {{!}} Sunshine State News {{!}} Florida Political News |url=https://sunshinestatenews.com/story/former-miami-mayor-maurice-ferre-dies-age-84 |website=Sunshine State News |access-date=November 25, 2025 |date=September 19, 2019}}</ref> His family is considered to have held aristocratic status in Puerto Rico.<ref name="Heraldson"/> He was the son of businessman José Ferré and nephew of governor of Puerto Rico Luis A. Ferré (1904–2003). Ferre's father José visited Miami, Florida in the 1920s and wondered why the city did not have any tall buildings.<ref>[http://archive.nacla.org/Summaries/V6I6P2-1.htm The Ferre Family: Puerto Rican by Birth, Yanqui in Spirit] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20060225034347/http://archive.nacla.org/Summaries/V6I6P2-1.htm |date=February 25, 2006 }}</ref> He then ventured into construction and real estate development in Miami. Ferré was born when José and his family returned to their hometown of Ponce.

In 1953, Ferré graduated high school at The Lawrenceville School (a boarding school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey). In 1957, Ferré graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor of science in architectural engineering. In 1958, he completed graduate studies at the same university for an Master of Business Administration.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU">{{cite web |title=The Life and Legacy of Mayor Ferré |url=https://library.fiu.edu/mauriceaferre/obits |publisher=Miami-Dade County government |via=Library.FIU.edu |access-date=November 22, 2025}}</ref>

==Private sector work== Ferré was also a businessman.<ref name="Heraldson">{{cite web |last1=Portal |first1=Pedro |title=Maurice R. Ferré, son of former mayor Maurice A. Ferré, reflects on his father's legacy |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article235285087.html |website=Miami Herald |access-date=23 November 2025 |date=September 19, 2009}}</ref> He served as a director of fourteen different corporations that the Ferré family operated in Florida, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/> The family's businesses included a $600 million concrete company,<ref name="TwoMayors"/> Maule Industries,<ref name="UPI1981"/> which went bankrupt in 1976 amid a recession. Ferré was also a property owner and property developer.<ref name="TwoMayors"/> He also worked as a banker and business consultant, and held various research and teaching posts

==Political career== Ferré had a decades-long career in elected office. During his political career, he was active in national political campaigns, and was a member of several presidential advisory boards.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/> A member of the Democratic Party,<ref name="SunshineStateObit"/> he was a delegate to four Democratic National Conventions.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/>

Prior to holding elected office, Ferré was a member of the Non-Group —a largely-secretive group of city business elites that was for decades considered a de facto force in local governance.<ref name="FIU1"/>

Ferré was a founding member of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), Caribbean/ Central America Action, and Inter-American Dialogue. He was the founding chairman of the Hispanic Council on Foreign Affairs. He also served as a board member of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the advisory board of the National Institute Against Prejudice & Violence. He also was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/>

Ferré was on a fellowship at Princeton University and was writing a book about the contributions that Hispanics have made to American culture. Ferré was one of the driving forces behind the "intermestic" (an abbreviation of ''international'' and ''domestic'') dialogue, which attempts to seek consensus regarding Puerto Rico's political status problem from both an international and domestic vantage point. He spoke about this effort to deal with Puerto Rico's political status in an address to the Puerto Rico Senate as keynote speaker during the Governors' Day special session on February 16, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thedialogue.org/summaries/june07/ferre.asp|title=Puerto Rico's political status|accessdate=June 29, 2023}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

In 1996, Florida International University political science professor Dario Moreno opined that Ferré had a brand of politics that most appealed to "middle-class-and-higher Anglos and Latins," describing him as not being a populist and having a political brand shaped in large part by his family background as "a patrician, a Latin aristocrat."<ref name="TwoMayors">{{cite web |last1=DeFede |first1=Jim |title=A Tale of Two Mayors |url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/opinion/a-tale-of-two-mayors-6361333/ |website=Miami New Times |access-date=November 25, 2025 |date=August 28, 1996}}</ref>

===Florida House of Representatives (1967–1968) and Miami City Commission (1967–1970)=== [[File:Florida State Reps taking oath from CJ Campbell Thornal on opening day of House session in Tallahassee, April 1967 (left to right, Gerald Lewis, Marrice Ferre, Kenneth Myers, Louis Wolfson II, Murray Dubbin, Carey Matthews) cropped.jpg|thumb|right|Ferré and other state reps being administered their oath of office by Chief Justice B. Campbell Thornal on April 4, 1967 (left to right: Gerald A. Lewis, Ferré, Kenneth M. Myers, Louis Wolfson II, Murray Dubbin, Carey Matthews)]]

Ferré unsuccessfully ran for Florida State Senate in 1966,<ref name="UPI1981">{{cite web |title=Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre: Leading a troubled city |url=https://www.upi.com/amp/Archives/1981/11/10/Miami-Mayor-Maurice-Ferre-Leading-a-troubled-city/3422374216400/ |website=UPI |access-date=November 28, 2025 |language=en |date=November 10, 1981}}</ref> but soon after won a seat in the Florida House of Representatives<ref name="myflorida"/> (being elected as a Democrat).<ref name="peopleoflawmaking"/> He served in the state house from 1967 to 1968,<ref name="myflorida">[http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/FileStores/Web/HouseContent/Approved/Public%20Guide/Uploads/Documents/house_counties_final.pdf House counties] myfloridahouse.gov {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316034642/https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/FileStores/Web/HouseContent/Approved/Public%20Guide/Uploads/Documents/house_counties_final.pdf |date=March 16, 2022 }}</ref><ref name="CBSFather1"/> representing the 91st district<ref name="peopleoflawmaking">{{cite web |title=People of Lawmaking In Florida (1822–2019) |url=https://www.floridamemory.com/fmp/territorial-legislative/PeopleOfLawmaking.pdf |page=61 |via=Florida Memory (State Library and Archives of Florida) |access-date= December 7, 2025 }}</ref> and first taking office on April 4, 1967.<ref>{{cite web |title=Representatives taking oath from Chief Justice Campbell Thornal on opening day of the House session - Tallahassee, Florida. |url=https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/82615 |via=Florida Memory |publisher=State Library and Archives of Florida |access-date=December 8, 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

In late-1967, Ferré was appointed to the Miami City Commission (city council), filling the seat left vacant when City Commissioner Stephen P. Clark became mayor following the death Mayor Robert King High. For some time, Ferré held both his state house seat and city commission seat coincidingly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pulse of Miami; Ferre May Stay In Legislature |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/301759625 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=The Miami News |access-date=November 22, 2025 |page=4 |date=September 12, 1967}}</ref> He resigned from the State House on March 1, 1968.<ref name="peopleoflawmaking"/> In late-1970, he resigned from the Miami City Commission in order to run for county mayor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former Zoner Goes To Work |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/636304317 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Miami Herald |access-date=January 16, 2026 |last=Tasker |first=Fred |page=139 |date=October 9, 1970}}</ref>

===1970 Metro Mayor campaign=== In 1970, Ferré ran for Metropolitan Dade County Mayor (county executive). He lost to Stephen P. Clark (the mayor of the city of Miami).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Merriweather |first1=Heath |last2=George |first2=Hunter |title=Mayoral Campaign Styles Put A Premium on Good Footwork |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/636662454 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 November 2025 |page=34 |date=November 11, 1970}}</ref>

===Mayor of Miami (1973–1985)=== {{Multiple image|total_width = 400  | align = right | direction = horizontal | background color =  | width =  | caption_align =  | image_style =  | image_gap =   | image1 = Little league baseball team posing with politicians (Claude Pepper, Gov. Reubin Askew, Mayor Maurice Ferre, Commissioner Rose Gordon) at the dedication of Roberto Clemente Park.jpg | caption1 = Ferré (back row, fourth from right) poses with little league players at the 1974 dedication of Roberto Clemente Park. He is joined by other politicians, including Rep. Claude Pepper, Gov. Reubin Askew, and City Commissioner Rose Gordon  | image2 = Rafael Hernandez (Gov. of Puerto Rico), Reubin Askew (Gov. of Florida); Maurice Ferré (Mayor of Miami); Claude Pepper (U.S. congressman) and Mildred Pepper at 1974 dedication of Roberto Clemente Park in Miami.jpg | caption2 = Ferré (second from right) with other dignitaries at the 1974 dedication of Roberto Clemente Park. From left to right: unidentified man, Rafael Hernández Colón (Gov. of Puerto Rico), Gov. Askew, Ferré, Rep. Pepper, and Mildred Pepper }}

Ferré served as mayor of Miami from 1973 to 1985. He was the first Latino person to serve as mayor of Miami, and the first Puerto Rican-born mayor of a major city in the mainland United States.<ref name="CaputoPolitico2017">{{cite web |last1=Caputo |first1=Marc |title=State Sen. Rodriguez hops into Miami congressional race |url=https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2017/05/09/he-checks-all-the-boxes-state-sen-rodriguez-hops-into-miami-congressional-race-111909 |website=Politico |access-date=November 25, 2025 |language=en |date=May 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cubans' Vote Felt in Miami Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/18/archives/cubans-vote-felt-in-miami-election-winners-are-democrats-termed.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=January 15, 2026 |date=November 18, 1973}}</ref>

Ferré's mayoral tenure included six consecutive elected 2-year terms.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/> He first took office on an acting basis in mid-1973, being appointed by Governor Reubin Askew to serve as mayor while David T. Kennedy was suspended from the office. Ferré soon re-assumed the office after being elected to his first full term in November 1973. He was re-elected in 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1983. In 1985, he again sought re-election, but was defeated (failing to advance to the runoff).<ref>{{cite web |title=Election USA: 1985. Results in State and Local Elections |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image-view/1142404260 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=USA Today |access-date=20 November 2025 |page=10 |date=November 7, 1985}}</ref> In 1987 he attempted unsuccessfully to win back the mayoralty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Incumbent Suarez Defeats Ferre in Runoff for Mayor of Miami |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-11-mn-13572-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date= November 23, 2025 |date= November 11, 1987}}</ref>

Ferré is sometimes referred to as the "father of modern-day Miami."<ref name="MH Sept 20, 2019"/><ref name="CBSFather1">{{cite web |title=Father Of Modern-Day Miami, Former Magic City Mayor Maurice Ferré Has Died |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/former-miami-mayor-maurice-ferre-has-died |website=CBS News Miami |access-date=November 22, 2025 |date=September 19, 2019}}</ref> To pay tribute to him and his legacy, a park district in Miami, formerly called Museum Park, was named after him in early 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.miamigov.com/Notices/Events-Activities/Dedication-Ceremony-Ribbon-Cutting-for-Maurice-A.-Ferre-Park|title=Maurice A. Ferre Park|website=www.miamigov.com|accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/01/31/23-acre-park-in-downtown-miami-dedicated-to-former-mayor-maurice-ferre/|title = 23-Acre Park in Downtown Miami Dedicated to Former Mayor Maurice Ferre|date = January 31, 2019}}</ref><ref name="MH Sept 20, 2019">{{cite news |last1=Viglucci |first1=Andres |title=Former mayor Maurice Ferré, considered the father of modern-day Miami, dies at 84 |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article235184477.html |accessdate=September 29, 2020 |work=Miami Herald |date=September 19, 2019}}</ref> After his death, the city's local CBS News affiliate recalled, "Ferré led Miami during tumultuous times and shaped the city's future as an international banking center and gateway to Latin America."<ref name="CBSFather1"/>

In 1996, Jim DeFede of the ''Miami New Times'' opined that, after Ferré's own ambitions of developing high-rise additions to Miami's skyline were scuttled by the bankruptcy of his family concrete company, he retained his ambition to see the city's skyline grow and shifted his attention towards motivating other businessmen to build up the city's skyline. DeFede opined, {{Blockquote| By encouraging the proliferation of skyscrapers, Ferre shifted Miami’s tax base. The government, once dependent on the property taxes of individual homeowners, now drew its largest block of revenue from the corporations that had settled in the city’s core. Lost, however, in Ferre’s drive to build was an understanding that a municipality is more than just the sum of its largest buildings. It is actually made up of people whose needs are far less grandiose and visionary — people who want their garbage collected regularly, their streets well maintained, and their neighborhoods kept safe from criminals.<ref name="TwoMayors"/>}}

{{Multiple image|total_width = 400  | align = right | direction = horizontal | background color =  | width =  | caption_align =  | image_style =  | image_gap =   | image1 = Group portrait at dedication of the Abe Goldman Building in Miami's Flagami Park (L to R, Mitchell Goldman, Joyce Goldman, unidentified, Jane Goldman, unidentified man behind Jane, Jack Kassewitz, Rose Gordon and Maurice Ferre).jpg | caption1 = Ferré (far right) in group portrait during the 1975 dedication of the Abe Goldman Building in Miami's Flagami Park  | image2 = Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre speaking at the unveiling of the Ponce de Leon statue at the Miami Public Library in October 1977.jpg | caption2 = Ferré speaking in front of the Main Library at Bayfront Park in October 1977}}

Much of Ferré's tenure coincided with the Metro Dade Government having a liberal city manager. The 1970s, were consequently perceived as a particularly progressive era for Miami in regards to local governance.<ref name="FIU1">{{cite web |last1=Lederman |first1=Daniel |title=Miami's meltdown: Nicholas Griffin presents 'The Year of Dangerous Days' |url=https://news.fiu.edu/2020/miamis-meltdown-nicholas-griffin-presents-the-year-of-dangerous-days |website=FIU News |access-date=January 14, 2026 |language=en |date=August 27, 2020}}</ref>

As mayor, Ferré participated in the United States Conference of Mayors.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/>

In 1975, President Gerald Ford appointed Ferré to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Refugees,<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/> a newly-created committee.<ref>{{cite web |title=Executive Order 11860—Establishing the President's Advisory Committee on Refugees {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-11860-establishing-the-presidents-advisory-committee-refugees |website=Presidency.ucsb.edu |access-date=November 22, 2025}}</ref> In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ferré to the Presidential Advisory Board of Ambassadorial Appointments. Ferré was a member of the delegation that President Carte sent to the 1978 UNESCO General Assembly.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/>

In 1980, several events brought a general sense of chaos and crisis to the city. The Mariel boatlift (mass emigration from Cuban between April 15 and October 31) brought mass arrivals that overwhelmed local resources. The city requested new assistance from the county government to deal with the new arrivals. Immigration policies were altered in 1980, which led to friction between local agencies and higher levels of government. Additionally, the local impacts of the crack cocaine epidemic worsened. Additionally, riots erupted on May 18, 1980 in reaction to the acquittal of police officers involved in the murder of Arthur McDuffie.<ref name="FIU1"/>

Ferré had enjoyed strong African American support in all of his successful mayoral elections.<ref name="UPINov9">{{cite web |last1=Hardy |first1=Jeff |title=Either way, Miami gets 1st Cuban-born mayor |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/11/09/Either-way-Miami-gets-1st-Cuban-born-mayor/5239500360400/ |website=UPI |access-date=November 25, 2025 |language=en |date=November 9, 1985}}</ref> However, his firing of Howard Gary (who was African American) from the position of city manager had caused African American support for him to dissipate prior to the 1985 election.<ref name="snoozer">{{cite web |title=Miami Mayoral Contest Turning Into A Snoozer |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1987/07/13/miami-mayoral-contest-turning-into-a-snoozer |website=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=November 25, 2025 |date=July 13, 1987}}</ref> Anger over Gary's firing was seen as a major factor in Ferré's ultimate first round defeat in the 1985 election.<ref name="Nordheimer">{{cite web |last1=Nordheimer |first1=Jon |title=Candidates Woo Blacks In Miami Runoff Today |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/12/us/candidates-woo-blacks-in-miami-runoff-today.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=25 November 2025 |date=Nov 12, 1985}}</ref>

===Dade County Board of Commissioners (1993–1997)=== From 1993 to 1997, Ferré served in the Dade County Board of Commissioners{{citation needed|date=November 2025}} and from 1993 to 1996 was the Vice-Chairman of the board.<ref name="lifeandlegacyFIU"/>

===1996 and 2004 county mayoral campaigns; 2001 city mayoral campaign; 2010 U.S. Senate campaign=== {{further|1996 Dade County mayoral election|2001 Miami mayoral election|2004 Miami-Dade County mayoral election|2010 United States Senate election in Florida}} [[File:Maurice Ferre (former Miami mayor) campaigning for U.S. Senate at a picnic of the Democratic Club of North Florida in Tallahassee on Saturday, July 24, 2010.jpg|thumb|Ferré campaigning for the U.S. Senate at a July 2010 picnic hosted in Tallahassee by the Democratic Club of North Florida]] Ferré ran for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 1996, finishing in third against fellow Commissioners Alex Penelas and Arthur Teele. Ferré won 20% and did not make it to the runoff.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=38979|title=Our Campaigns - Dade County Mayor - Primary Race - Sep 02, 1996|website=www.ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref>

In November 2001, Ferré lost his bid to be once again elected as Mayor of Miami.<ref>"[http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2004-06-17/news/ego-without-end/ Ego Without End] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929103047/http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2004-06-17/news/ego-without-end/ |date=September 29, 2007 }}." ''Miami New Times''.</ref>

Ferré attempted his second run for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 2004; however, he won only 17.76% of the vote, and did not make the run-off.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=30532|title=Our Campaigns - Miami-Dade County Mayor Race - Aug 31, 2004|website=www.ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=June 29, 2023}}</ref>

In October 2009, Ferré announced that he was running for the open U.S. Senate seat of Mel Martinez.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/10/kendrick-meeks-version-of-marco-rubio.html |title=Kendrick Meek's primary challenge emerges | Florida politics blog: The Buzz |access-date=October 14, 2009 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707073150/http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/10/kendrick-meeks-version-of-marco-rubio.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He finished in fourth place (last place) in the Democratic primary, with only 4.9% of the vote.<ref>2010 United States Senate election in Florida</ref>{{Circular reference|date=October 2019}}

===Florida Transportation Commission and later work=== Ferré endorsed the candidacy of Rick Scott (the Republican nominee) in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial election. In 2011, Governor Scott appointed Ferré to the Florida Transportation Commission, which was one of the most high-profile appointments of a Democrat during Scott's governorship.<ref name="SunshineStateObit"/>

Ahead of the primaries for the 2014 gubernatorial election, Ferré endorsed Democratic candidate Nan Rich. However, he held off on criticizing Governor Scott. After Rich lost the primary to former governor Charlie Crist (a former Republican, turned Democrat), Ferré endorsed Scott's re-election in the general election. He went as far as to film a Spanish-language television advertisement in support of Scott's re-election (co-starring former Puerto Rican governor Luis Fortuño).<ref name="SunshineStateObit"/> Ahead of the Democratic primary for the 2018 gubernatorial election, Ferré endorsed the unsuccessful candidacy of Gwen Graham.<ref name="SunshineStateObit"/>

==Personal life and death== In the mid-1950s, Ferré married his wife Mercedes, a Venezuelan-born heiress. Together they had four sons and two daughters.<ref name="UPI1981"/>

Ferré's granddaughter, Sonia Succar Rodriguez, married Democratic Florida state senator Jose Javier Rodriguez.<ref name="CaputoPolitico2017"/> One of Ferré's sons married Helen Aguirre Ferré, who served as Director of White House Media Affairs and advisor to the president during the First Trump administration.<ref name="CaputoPolitico2017"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Mazzei|first1=Patricia|title=GOP taps Miami's Helen Aguirre Ferré as Hispanic communications director|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article81270292.html|work=Miami Herald|date=June 1, 2016|language=en}}</ref>

On December 20, 1995, Francisco Ferré Malaussena, Mariana Gómez de Ferré, and Felipe Antonio Ferré Gómez (the son, daughter-in-law, and grandson of Ferré) died when American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Colombia.<ref name="Listofdead">"[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E2DE1539F930A15751C1A963958260 The List of the 164 People on Flight 965]," ''The New York Times''</ref><ref>"[http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/record/1996/1996_E00213.pdf Congressional Record—Extensions of Remarks] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218204455/http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/record/1996/1996_E00213.pdf |date=December 18, 2008 }}," ''U.S. Government Printing Office''</ref>

Ferré died in Miami on September 19, 2019, from an aggressive spinal cancer he had fought for two years.<ref name="NYTobit"/> He was 84 years of age. His passing occurred at his longtime residence in the southern portion of Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood. His wife, Mercedes, and his children and grandchildren were present by his side when he died.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Viglucci |first1=Andres |title=Former mayor Maurice Ferré, considered the father of modern-day Miami, dies at 84 |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article235184477.html |website=The Miami Herald |access-date=November 25, 2025 |date=March 15, 2022}}</ref> He had recently undergone chemotherapy shortly before his death.<ref name="CBSFather1"/> He was buried at Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum in Miami.<ref name="NYTobit">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/us/politics/maurice-ferre-dead.html|title=Maurice Ferré, Miami's First Hispanic Mayor, Dies at 84|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 19, 2019|last1=Mazzei|first1=Patricia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article235184477.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190920064853/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article235184477.html| archive-date = September 20, 2019| title = Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré Is Dead | website = Miami Herald}}</ref>

==See also== *List of mayors of Miami * Government of Miami {{Portal|Puerto Rico|Biography}} *List of Puerto Ricans {{Clear}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091112051546/http://www.ferre2010.com/ ferre2010.com] (archived)

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{Succession box| before=David T. Kennedy | title=Mayor of Miami | years=1973 | after=David T. Kennedy }} {{Succession box| before=David T. Kennedy | title=Mayor of Miami | years=1973–1985 | after=Xavier Suárez }} {{s-end}} {{Mayors of Miami|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferre, Maurice}} Category:1935 births Category:2019 deaths Category:20th-century mayors of places in Florida Category:American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Category:Hispanic and Latino American mayors in Florida Category:Mayors of Miami Category:Miami-Dade County Commissioners Category:Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Category:Politicians from Ponce, Puerto Rico Category:Puerto Rican people of Catalan descent Category:University of Miami alumni Category:Neurological disease deaths in Florida Category:Deaths from cancer in Florida Category:Deaths from spinal cancer in the United States Category:20th-century members of the Florida Legislature Category:Miami City Commission members Category:Non-Group members