inauguration of the President of Paraguay. While there, he addressed the banking and savings and loan industries. Fernandez also served as a member of the Executive Council of the Republican National Committee in 1976. Republican National Hispanic Assembly Fernandez was an early and adamant supporter of Hispanic involvement within the GOP. In 1967, Fernandez was one of five World War II veterans who came together in Washington, D.C., to discuss Hispanic involvement in American Politics. He co-founded the Republican National Hispanic Council and was elected as its first national chairman. The group would later change its name to the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, and became an official branch of the Republican National Committee under the leadership of then-RNC Chairman George H. W. Bush. While chairman of the Republican Hispanic Assembly, Fernandez experienced his share of controversy. In one instance, he sent out a "dear amigos" letter to federal employees and contractors urging attendance at a fundraising dinner for President Gerald Ford. A Republican Hispanic Assembly spokesman said he saw no impropriety in the solicitations. President Ford relied heavily on Fernandez to raise money and rally support for him in the Spanish-speaking community. When President Ford's director of the Office of Minority Business Enterprise, Alex Armendaris was accused of misconduct, Fernandez allegedly made a personal phone call to Ford urging him not to fire Armendaris. Fernandez had previously teamed up with Armendaris to raise over $400,000 for Richard Nixon. During the Senate's Watergate hearings, a Florida builder who was in trouble with the government testified that Fernandez had promised him cabinet-level help in return for a $100,000 cash donation to the Nixon campaign. Fernandez stated that he was never promised any favors for a $25,000 contribution he had made. Fernandez also denied that he had attempted to help the Nixon administration's political backers by speeding up the approval of contracts by the Office of Minority Business. Fernandez was exonerated by the Senate Watergate committee of any wrongdoing. Presidential runs In October 1978, Fernandez announced his candidacy for the Republican Party's nomination for President at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He was the first major-party presidential contender of Hispanic origin. Running in a crowded primary field in 1980, he appeared on the ballot in 18 primaries. He received 25,520 votes nationally, enough to win thirty delegates at the Republican nominating convention. During the Presidential primaries, Fernandez campaigned in both English