Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. (January 4, 1927 – March 15, 2022) was an American educator and politician.

[3]: 19  Through his maternal ancestry, he was a descendant of Texas Revolution heroine Francita Alavez, the "Angel of Goliad".

[citation needed] A Democrat, Cavazos served as Secretary of Education from August 1988 to December 1990 during the Republican Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations.

Following his resignation as Secretary of Education, he returned to the faculty of Tufts University where he served as Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine.

[6] Cavazos was married to the former Peggy Ann Murdock; they had ten children and lived in Massachusetts.