Ron de Lugo was only 26 years old in November, 1956, when he won his first election to the U.S. Vir-
gin Islands Legislature. Like all his elections to local and federal offices throughout his career, this was 
for an at-large seat from the District of St. Thomas. For the next 38 years, until his retirement from 
the U.S. Congress in 1994, de Lugo played a pivotal role in the social, economic and political develop-
ment of his Virgin Islands community. He worked tirelessly to expand the rights of all who live in these 
islands and, as his influence grew in the United States Congress, he was able to advance the interests 
of fellow Americans in all the insular areas and offshore commonwealths of the United States. 
From 1948-1950 he served in the U.S. Army and was program 
director and announcer for the Armed Forces Radio Service in 
Puerto Rico. After discharge he helped launch St. Thomas ra-
dio station WSTA. In 1952, he sparked the revival of Carnival, 
one of the Virgin Islands’ greatest cultural phenomena.
He was elected to four terms in the Legislature of the U.S. 
Virgin Islands, from 1956-1960 and from 1962-1966, inter-
spersed by an appointment as St. Croix Administrator from 
1961-1962. He was a member of the Democratic National 
Committee from 1959-1966. A growing network of national 
political alliances led to Congress giving the people of the 
Virgin Islands the right to elect their own governor in 1968 for 
the first time in history. In 1968, de Lugo was elected to the 
first of two terms as Washington Representative. In November 
of 1972, de Lugo was elected the first Congressional Delegate 
from the U.S. Virgin Islands and served ten terms, achieving 
sufficient seniority by 1989 to become Chairman of the Inte-
rior Subcommittee on Insular and International Affairs.
Congressman de Lugo had many accomplishments including securing federal pensions for former 
VICORP employees, inclusion of the Virgin Islands in the federal Airport Development Aid Program 
that ensured sufficient funding to complete expansion of Cyril E. King Airport, major improvements to 
Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, expansion of Crown Bay Dock and reconstruction of the Frederiksted Pier. 
He was instrumental in securing state-like treatment for the Virgin Islands under the Federal Highway 
System, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies. He also sought 
protection of the Territory’s unique status outside the U.S. Customs Zone. This included duty-free 
allowances for visitors, exemption from Jones Act shipping restrictions, mirror tax investment incen-
tives and the rum excise taxes. 
His other accomplishments included passing legislation formally designating the University of the 
Virgin Islands as one of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. His Alien Adjustment 
Act of 1982 brought resolution to the long-standing, divisive issues caused by the uncertain status of 
temporary workers by making them and their families eligible for U.S. citizenship. He legislated the 
title transfers of Water Island to the Virgin Islands, the National Park on Hassel Island, and the creation 
of a National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve at the Columbus Landing Site at Salt River. His 
bills also brought to the people of the Virgin Islands a Supreme Court appellate system and jurisdiction 
over its surrounding submerged lands. 
In his last term, a long-held goal was realized when the then Speaker of the House Thomas C. Foley 
agreed to give congressional delegates from the territories and the District of Columbia the right to 
vote in the Committee of the Whole in the House during the 103rd Congress. He retired from public 
office in 1994. In 2003, the Federal Building in St. Thomas was named in his honor. He lives on St. 
Thomas with his wife, Sheila Paiewonsky de Lugo. Between them they have four children, seven 
grandchildren and two great grandchildren. De Lugo remains a friend and counselor to the people of 
all insular areas, and above all, to his Virgin Islands community to which he dedicated his career in 
public service.
The Honorable Ron de Lugo
Honorary Doctorate
The Honorable Ron de Lugo
Fiftieth
Commencement
ST. THOMAS
Saturday, the Seventeenth of May
Two Thousand and Fourteen
Seven O’Clock in the Evening
Sports and Fitness Center
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
ST. CROIX
Sunday, the Eighteenth of May
Two Thousand and Fourteen
Half after Two O’Clock in the Afternoon
Campus Grounds
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands