Francis Suarez

Birth Name: Francis Xavier Suarez

Place of Birth: Miami, Florida, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 6, 1977

Ethnicity: Cuban [Spanish, some Basque, Catalan, other], distant Colombian

Francis Suarez, also known as Francis X. Suarez, is an American attorney and politician. A Republican, he has been Mayor of Miami, since November 15, 2017, as well as, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, from June 2022 to June 2023.

He was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2024.

He is the son of Rita and politician Xavier Suarez (Xavier Louis Suarez), who was also Mayor of Miami, from November 14, 1985 to November 11, 1993, and again, from November 14, 1997 to March 12, 1998. His father was born in Las Villas, Cuba. His mother came to Miami from Cuba in 1961. He is married to Gloria Fonts Suarez, with whom he has two children.

Francis is a first cousin of Republican Party politician Alex Mooney (Alexander Xavier Mooney), who has been a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia, since January 3, 2015. Francis’ father is a brother of Alex’s mother.

Francis’ paternal grandfather was Manuel Suárez-Carreno (the son of Patricio Suárez Cordovés and Manuela Carreno y Sardina). Manuel was the first Dean of the School of Engineering at the Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva (St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic University), in Havana, Cuba. Patricio was the son of Manuel Suárez Cuetara and Eusebia Cordoves. Manuela likely was the daughter of Manuel Carreño y Fernández, who was from Asturias, and of Eulalia Sardiña Sosa.

Francis’ paternal grandmother was Eloisa Gastón Segrera (the daughter of Melchor Gastón y Russel and Eloisa Segrera y Delaterga). Francis’ grandmother Eloisa was born in Havana, Cuba. Melchor was the son of Melchor Gastón y Gastón and Águeda Rossel/Russel y Malpica. Águeda’s father, Francisco Rossel y Sauri, was Catalan.

Francis is one of several people of Hispanic ancestry to have mounted a major campaign for President of the United States. The others were/are:
*Ben Fernandez (who sought the 1980, 1984, and 1988 Republican nominations; Fernandez’s parents were Mexican)
*Bill Richardson (who sought the 2008 Democratic nomination; three of Richardson’s grandparents were Hispanic)
*Ted Cruz (2016; Republican; won 11 contests; Cruz’s father is Cuban)
*Marco Rubio (2016; Republican; won 3 contests; Rubio’s parents are Cuban)
*Richard Ojeda (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Ojeda’s paternal grandfather was Mexican)
*Julián Castro (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Castro is of Mexican descent)

Several prominent candidates for President of the United States can be considered Hispanic in a sense, though they were not of Spanish and/or Indigenous ancestry:
*George W. Romney (who sought the 1968 Republican nomination, and whose name was placed in nomination for 1964’s; he was born in Mexico, of non-Hispanic descent)
*Pierre S. du Pont IV (who sought the 1988 Republican nomination; his maternal grandfather was born in Chile, of non-Hispanic descent)
*John McCain (who sought the 2000 Republican nomination, and who was the 2008 Republican nominee; he was born in Panama, of non-Hispanic descent)
*Mitt Romney (who sought the 2008 Republican nomination, and who was the 2012 Republican nominee; his father George was born in Mexico, of non-Hispanic descent)

Sources: https://www.forbes.com
https://www.nytimes.com

Genealogy of Francis Suarez (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com