Governor of Puerto Rico

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Puerto Rico

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Puerto Rico

Constitution Government Executive Departments Public corporations Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Legislative Assembly Senate House of Representatives 15th Legislative Assembly (current) Supreme Court Resident Commissioner Municipalities Political parties Elections: 2004 - 2008

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The Governor of Puerto Rico is the Head of Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since 1948, the Governor has been elected by the people of Puerto Rico. Prior to that date, the Governor of Puerto Rico was appointed by either the King of Spain (during the time of Spanish rule) or the President of the United States (1898-1946).

Contents 1 First Native Governor 2 First Democratically Elected Governor 3 Requirements to hold office 4 General Elections 5 Powers of the Governor 6 Oath of Office 7 Succession 8 Latest election 9 List of Democratically Elected Governors of Puerto Rico 10 External links

[edit] First Native Governor

In 1946, President Harry Truman appointed Jesús T. Piñero to the governor's seat. This marked the first time in history that a native Puerto Rican held the highest office on the island. However, Piñero remained in office only until 1948, when Puerto Ricans were allowed to choose their governor for the first time.

[edit] First Democratically Elected Governor

In 1948, Luis Muñoz Marín was elected Governor of Puerto Rico. On July 25, 1952, the Constitution of Puerto Rico was approved by the United States' Congress.

[edit] Requirements to hold office

Section Three of Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico establishes the requirements one must meet in order to become Governor. The governor must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Puerto Rico for five consecutive years and at least 35 years old at the time of the election.

The Governor serves a four year term which begins on the second day of January after the year of his election and ends on the date his successor takes office. There is no limit on the number of terms a Governor can serve. His official residence and office is at La Fortaleza in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[edit] General Elections

The Governor is elected by a direct vote from the people. The Constitution states that if the margin of victory of a candidate is less than .5% of the votes a full recount of the election must take place. So far, only in the elections of 1980 and 2004 has a recount taken place.

On the same ballot as the Governor the people vote for the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. This elected official represents Puerto Rico in the Congress of the United States. Candidates for Governor and Resident Commissioner are not paired, meaning that, unlike Presidential elections in the United States (where voters cannot choose between a President from one political party and a Vice President from another party), the people can choose and elect candidates from different parties (which has only occurred in 2004).

[edit] Powers of the Governor

The Governor is head of the Government of Puerto Rico. He has the power to veto any number of projects that the Puerto Rican Legislature wishes to pass. The Governor also has the power to appoint the members of his cabinet, who in turn must be ratified by the Legislature. The Governor also has the power to appoint Justices to the Supreme Court and all the lower courts of the island.

The Governor must address the Legislature at the beginning of each year to present a State of the Commonwealth speech. He is also the Commander in Chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard and the chief diplomat.

[edit] Oath of Office

The Oath of Office for the Governor's seat is the same as the one administered to every Federal position in the United States. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico presents the oath:

I, as Governor of Puerto Rico, do solemny swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and the Laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Yo, como Gobernador de Puerto Rico, juro solemnemente que mantendré y defenderé la Constitución de los Estados Unidos y la Constitución y la Leyes del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico contra cualquier enemigo interior o exterior; que prestaré fidelidad y adhesión a las mismas; Que asumo esta obligación libremente, sin reserva mental ni propósito de evadirla; que desempeñaré bien y fielmente los deberes del cargo que estoy próximo a ejercer. Que así me ayude Dios.

[edit] Succession

Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment and conviction) of a sitting Governor, the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico would then take the office of Governor. In case the Secretary of State is unwilling or unable to assume it, the Attorney General (or, as the position is known, the Justice Department Secretary) would assume the governorship, followed by the Secretary of Treasury.

[edit] Latest election

[discuss] – [edit]
Summary of the 2 November 2004 Puerto Rico governor election results

Candidates - Parties		Votes	%
	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá - Popular Democratic Party	963,303	48.40
	Pedro Rosselló - New Progressive Party	959,737	48.22
	Rubén Berríos Martínez - Puerto Rican Independence Party	54,551	2.74
	Others	12,781	0.64
	Total (turnout 81.7 %)		100.0
	Source: (Spanish) CEEPUR

[edit] List of Democratically Elected Governors of Puerto Rico

For a list of all the governors of Puerto Rico, including those appointed by Spain and the U.S, see List of Governors of Puerto Rico.

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party	Resident Commissioner
1	Luis Muñoz Marín	1949	1965	Popular Democratic Party	Antonio Fernós Isern
2	Roberto Sánchez Vilella	1965	1969	Popular Democratic Party	Santiago Polanco Abreu
3	Luis A. Ferré	1969	1973	New Progressive Party	Jorge Luis Córdova
4	Rafael Hernández Colón 1st Term	1973	1977	Popular Democratic Party	Jaime Benitez, Jaime Fuster and Antonio Colorado
5	Carlos Romero Barceló	1977	1985	New Progressive Party	Baltasar Corrada del Río
	Rafael Hernández Colón 2nd Term	1985	1993	Popular Democratic Party	Jaime Benitez, Jaime Fuster and Antonio Colorado
6	Pedro Rosselló González	1993	2001	New Progressive Party	Carlos Romero Barceló
7	Sila M. Calderón	2001	2005	Popular Democratic Party	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
8	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá	2005	Incumbent	Popular Democratic Party	Luis Fortuño(New Progressive Party)

[edit] External links

• Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico

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