Governor of Puerto Rico

The Governor of Puerto Rico is the Head of Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since 1948, the Governor is 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 List of Democratically Elected Governors of Puerto Rico

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 until 1948, when Puerto Ricans were allowed to choose their governor for the first time.

First Democratically Elected Governor

In 1948, Luis Muñoz Marín was elected Governor of Puerto Rico. This marked the first time the people chose their Governor. Muñoz worked hard to create the first Constitution for the island. On July 25, 1952, the Constitution of Puerto Rico was approved by the United States' Congress.

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.

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 4,000 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.

Powers of the Governor

The Governor is head of the executive branch 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 Nation speech. He is also the Commander in Chief of the Militica of Puerto Rico. The Governor is also the Chief Diplomat.

Oath of Office

The Oath of Office for the Governor's seat is established by the Constitution. 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.

Succession

Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment and conviction) of a sitting Governor, the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico will then take the office of Governor. In case there is no Secretary of State, the Legislature will then chose who the new Governor will be.

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	1973-1977 First Term	1985-1993 Second Term	Popular Democratic Party	Jaime Benitez, Jaime Fuster and Antonio Colorado
5	Carlos Romero Barceló	1977	1985	New Progressive Party	Baltasar Corrada del Río
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

es:Gobernador de Puerto Rico