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|name = Pedro Pierluisi
|name = Pedro Pierluisi
|image = Pedro Pierluisi.jpg
|image = Pedro Pierluisi.jpg
<!-- |office = [[Governor of Puerto Rico]]
<!-- |office = [[13th Governor of Puerto Rico]]
|status = Designate
|status = Designate
|term_start = August 2, 2019
|term_start = August 2, 2019

Revision as of 21:23, 2 August 2019

Template:Spanish name

Pedro Pierluisi
Governor of Puerto Rico
Assumed office
August 2, 2019
Preceded byRicardo Rosselló
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byLuis Fortuño
Succeeded byJenniffer González
Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico
In office
January 2, 1993 – January 1997
GovernorPedro Rosselló
Preceded byHéctor Rivera Cruz
Succeeded byJosé Fuentes Agostini
Personal details
Born
Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia

(1959-04-26) April 26, 1959 (age 65)
San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S.
Political partyNew Progressive
Other political
affiliations		Democratic
SpouseMaría Carrión
Children4
EducationTulane University (BA)
George Washington University (JD)

Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia[a] (born April 26, 1959) is a Puerto Rican attorney and politician who served as the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2009-2017, as well as the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico in the 1990's. Pierluisi, a member of New Progressive and the national Democratic Party was appointed the acting Secretary of State of Puerto Rico in July 2019, and is expected to take office as Governor of Puerto Rico upon the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló.[2]

As a congressman, Pierluisi focused almost all of his efforts on bills related to Puerto Rico. On this matter, Pierluisi fiercely advocated for two bills. In the first, H.R. 2499, Pierluisi sought to provide for plebiscites to be held in Puerto Rico to determine the island's ultimate political status. He managed to get the bill approved by the House but not by the Senate—a failure that led to the bill's death after the sine die adjournment of the 111th Congress. In the second bill, H.R. 870, Pierluisi sought to include Puerto Rico in Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code so that the island's government-owned corporations could file for bankruptcy—a privilege they do not enjoy as they are excluded from the code. Due to this exclusion, Pierluisi proposed the bill as a fallback against the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis which threatens local agencies that are unable to restructure their debt within the aforementioned legal framework. He continues to advocate for Puerto Rico to be included in said framework, with both Democrats and Republicans supporting his cause but with reservations.

Before his service in Congress, Pierluisi worked in the private and public sectors as an accomplished litigator. One of his most prominent accomplishments was serving as one of the lead attorneys representing the government of Perú in a lawsuit regarding the trade of silver. In that case, his client was awarded $180 million USD in damages. Another accomplishment was being appointed Attorney General of Puerto Rico. In that role, Pierluisi argued two landmark constitutional law cases before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Afterwards, he practiced law privately for ten years to then return to public service in 2009.

On July 30, 2019, local media in Puerto Rico reported that the embattled governor of the commonwealth, Ricardo Rosselló, would nominate Pierluisi as secretary of state of Puerto Rico. He was sworn in on July 31, 2019, but was not confirmed by either House of the Puerto Rican Congress.[3] He will only serve as acting Secretary of State until both houses confirm him.[3] If confirmed by Puerto Rico's legislative bodies, he would've succeeded to the governorship on August 2, 2019, the day Rosselló's resignation goes into effect.[4] It was announced on August 1 that the Puerto Rican Senate would not confirm him by this day.[4] On August 2, 2019, confirmation hearings were being held.[5][6][7]

Early life and education

Pierluisi was born in 1959 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He attended Colegio Marista of Guaynabo, graduating in 1977. In 1981, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History from Tulane University, and later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from George Washington University Law School in 1984. He was President of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association chapter at Tulane University.[8] Later, he was President of the George Washington University International Law Society from 1982–1983.[citation needed] During his studies at George Washington University, Pierluisi interned at the congressional office of then Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Baltasar Corrada del Río.[citation needed]

Early career

Pierluisi first practiced law as a private attorney in Washington, D.C. from 1984 until 1990. Notably, Mr. Pierluisi was one of the lead attorneys representing the government of Peru in its lawsuit against the Hunt brothers for trying to corner the silver market in the late 1970s. The lawsuit resulted in a $180 million damages award for the plaintiff. He then practiced law in Puerto Rico from 1990 until 1993.[citation needed]

Pierluisi was appointed as Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico by Pedro Rosselló in 1993. He was unanimously confirmed.[citation needed]

U.S. House of Representatives

See also: United States House of Representatives election in Puerto Rico, 2008

On May 18, 2007, Pierluisi announced his candidacy for Resident Commissioner, Puerto Rico's sole delegate to the United States Congress in the November 2008 elections. He accompanied then current Resident Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Luis Fortuño in the March 9, 2008 NPP primary ticket. Fortuño was a classmate at Colegio Marista, a fellow founding member of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association in 1979, and also a fellow cabinet member of Pierluisi's during Governor Rosselló's first term from 1993–1996.

According to the candidate reports filed before the Federal Elections Commission (FEC),[9] Pierluisi led the other NPP candidates by a ten-to-one margin in fundraising, having raised over $450,000 in 2007, while opponent Charlie Rodriguez had only raised $47,000 and Dr. Miriam Ramírez de Ferrer had not reported any fundraising. He also leads in fundraising among the four candidates to succeed Resident Commissioner Fortuño in the November 4, 2008 general election.[citation needed]

On March 9, 2008, Pierluisi won the primary with 61% of the vote against former Senate President Charlie Rodriguez, who polled 33%, and former Sen. Miriam Ramírez, who obtained 6% of the vote. Pierluisi's running mate, Luis Fortuño, also won the NPP nomination for governor with nearly 60% of primary votes.[10]

On November 4, 2008, he won the post of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico with over 53% of the vote. He was sworn in on January 6, 2009 by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was the top vote-getter in the 2012 general elections, when he was reelected to a second four-year term and outpolled his running-mate, then Gov. Luis Fortuño as well as current Gov. Alejandro García Padilla. He now has more seniority in the House than the congressman who is 254th on the list of seniority.

Congressman Pierluisi is a member of the New Progressive Party in Puerto Rico which advocates statehood for the Island territory. He and former Governor Luis Fortuño, both of the New Progressive Party, obtained the largest margin of victory in Puerto Rico in the past 44 years garnering a mandate of over one million votes. While on Capitol Hill, Pierluisi caucuses with the Democratic Party.[11] He is the sole representative in Congress of the 3.7 million American citizens who reside on the Island.

On May 19, 2009, Pierluisi filed HR 2499, a bill to provide for a two-tiered referendum in Puerto Rico to allow Puerto Ricans to express their opinion regarding Puerto Rico's ultimate political status.[12] The bill's 90 original co-sponsors exceeds the 80 original co-sponsors in HR 900, filed by his predecessor, Luis Fortuño.[13] HR 2499 passed the house on April 30, 2010 with a vote of 223–169. Since then, in a political status plebiscite held on November 6, 2012, Puerto Rico's voters, with 54% of the vote, expressed their desire to change the island's political status. Of those expressing an alternate status, 61% supported statehood for Puerto Rico. On May 15, 2013, Pierluisi filed HR 2000, a bill to admit Puerto Rico as a state.[14]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Accusations of conflicts of interest

In April 2016, while legislation to deal with Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis was being discussed in the House of Representatives, The New York Times published an article covering possible conflicts of interest from Pierluisi's part.[15] The article covers various corporate clients from Pierluisi's wife personal firm who would benefit directly from bills proposed by Pierluisi, specifically those amending Chapter 9 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code. These firms had recently invested in Puerto Rican bonds. In addition, the newspaper established that Pierluisi's wife founded the firm shortly after Pierluisi was sworn into Congress in 2009. In the 8 years since he was elected to as resident commissioner, Pierluisi's average net worth had increased 27-fold.[relevant?][citation needed]

Personal life

Pierluisi is married to María Elena Carrión, an executive, investment manager, and entrepreneur. He also had a previous marriage with whom he has three sons, Anthony, Michael, and Rafael, and one daughter, Jacqueline.[16] One of his sons, Michael Pierluisi, was the Secretary of Consumer Affairs of Puerto Rico until June 2019.[17]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Primera Hora (2009) "El nuevo comisionado residente en Washington, Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia..."[1]

References

  1. ^ "Busca auxilio federal". Primera Hora (in Spanish). January 7, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Clark, Bill (August 1, 2019). "Puerto Rico Legislature delays vote on Pedro Pierluisi, possible successor to governor". NBC News. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  3. ^ a b CNN, Nicole Chavez. "Puerto Rico's next governor could be a woman. She doesn't want the job but she says it's her duty". CNN. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b Coto, Danica. "Puerto Rico Still Unsure Who'll Be Governor Within Hours". NBC New York.
  5. ^ "Univision Puerto Rico". Univision.
  6. ^ "Tony Soto Torres pregunta a Pierluisi si buscaría trabajar un nuevo plan fiscal que sea certificado por la Junta Fiscal". Univision.
  7. ^ "Incertidumbre ante la salida de Rosselló". Univision.
  8. ^ "Free Hosting Account Suspended - x10hosting". Statehoodpr.org. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2016-04-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ FEC 2007–2008 Cycle (2008-06-11). "Pedro Pierluisi Total Receipts". FEC. Retrieved 2008-06-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Primarias 2008 Escrutinio PNP". 64.185.222.182. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-04-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Newlin, Eliza. Res. Com. Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR, At-Large) – The Almanac of American Politics. Nationaljournal.com. Retrieved on 2012-11-22.
  12. ^ Garcia, Steve (2009-07-20). Steve Garcia: Puerto Rico's Path To Statehood. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 2012-11-22.
  13. ^ Home – El Nuevo Día. Elnuevodia.com (2010-03-31). Retrieved on 2012-11-22.
  14. ^ – Puerto Rico Report. PuertoRicoReport.com (2013-05-15). Retrieved on 2013-05-13.
  15. ^ "Puerto Rico's Prosperous D.C. Power Couple". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  16. ^ Delgado, José (June 6, 2011). "Gitana la esposa de Pedro Pierluisi". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  17. ^ "Rosselló coloca a un hijo de Pedro Pierluisi en su gabinete". 12 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
Legal offices
Preceded by Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico
1993–1997 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
2009–2017 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Puerto Rico New Progressive Party
2013–2016 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
Acting
2019–present 		Incumbent
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