Federico Fabian Pe�a was United States Secretary of Transportation from 1993 to 1997 and United States Secretary of Energy from 1997 to 1998, during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Born in Laredo, Texas, Pe�a earned a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas School of Law, respectively. Moving to Colorado, where he became a practicing attorney, Pe�a was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1979, where he rose to become Minority Leader. In 1983, Pe�a defeated a 14-year incumbent, William H. McNichols, Jr. to become the first Hispanic Mayor of Denver, a post to which he was re-elected in 1987. Pe�a advised Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton on transportation issues during Clinton's Presidential transition and thereafter Clinton chose Pe�a to head the United States Department of Transportation. At DOT, Pe�a led an organization of 110,000 employees with a budget of $37 billion. Pe�a also negotiated international aviation agreements with 41 nations during his term, pressing for increased freedom for airlines to serve markets. He cut the size of the Transportation Department by some 11,000 employees. [More at Wikipedia]

March 15th, 1947 in Laredo (Age 77)