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| Order: | 4th Democratically Elected Governor | ||
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| Term of Office: | |||
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| Successor: | |||
| Date of Birth: | Friday, October 24, 1936 | ||
| Place of Birth: | Ponce, Puerto Rico | ||
| First Lady: | Lila Mayoral | ||
| Profession: | politician, lawyer | ||
| Political Party: | Popular Democratic Party | ||
| Resident Commissioner: | Jaime Benítez (1973-1977) Jaime Fuster (1985-1992) Antonio Colorado (1992-1993) | ||
Rafael Hernández Colón (born October 24, 1936) is a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, who was the fourth democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico for 12 years (1973-1977, 1985-1993).
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Education
Hernández Colón studied at Wayne in Pennsylvania, and obtained a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University in 1956 where he graduated with honors. In 1956, he obtained his degree in Law from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, graduating magna cum laude and as valedictorian of his class.
Political Career
Hernández Colón affiliated himself with the Popular Democratic Party, or Partido Popular Democratico (PPD). He served as Associate Commisioner of Public Service under the governorship of Roberto Sánchez Vilella. In 1965 he was named Secretary of the Department of Justice. In 1968 he was elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico, becoming the youngest Senator to hold a seat in the Senate at the time. A young political star, he was named President of the Senate until 1972, when he succesfully ran for Governor of Puerto Rico.
First Term (1972-1977)
Hernández Colón made an effort to get more international firms to invest in Puerto Rico and opposed President Gerald Ford's wishes to make Puerto Rico the 51st state. In 1974, Time Magazine named Rafael Hernandez Colon as one of the world's youngest world leaders.
During his first term, the island passed through some economic problems and most of the blame fell into Hernández Colón. Hernández lost in 1976 to then Mayor of San Juan Carlos Romero Barcelo, and again in 1980. The 1980 elections, however, were the closest in Puerto Rican history (Carlos Romero Barceló only won by a 3,000 vote margin) and Hernández Colón was sure he would win back his place as Governor in 1984.
Second Term (1984-1992)
Hernández Colón ran again in the elections of 1984 and was victorious by a landslide. He took office in January of the following year. This time around, Hernández Colón had to face different problems and situations, but the Puerto Rican public thought he did a good job and gave him their votes again in the 1988 election, although rival Baltasar Corrada del Río did decently on the polls. Hernández Colón became a travelling governor during his third and last tenure as governor, and he sponsored trade contracts with such countries as Japan, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain and Canada. His efforts to improve the ever changing Puerto Rican economy took him to all continents, and he also sponsored Puerto Rico's bid to get the 2004 [[Olympic Game. On June, 1991 Hernández announced that he would not seek another term as Governor. On January 11, Hernandez Colón resigned as President of the Popular Democratic Party, the post he he;d fpr 23 years. Then Senator Victoria Munoz Mendoza succedded as President of the party and would later become governatorial candidate.
Literary Works and Other Honors
Rafael Hernandez Colon has published various works specializing in law. Among his works; "Procedimiento civil, Trayectoria historica de la Autonomia politica puertoriqueña" and "Nueva Tesis" (ISBN 8459967565) which talks about the Puerto Rican Commonwealth political relationship with the United States of America.
Hernandez Colon has been granted Honoris Causa degrees from John Hopkin's University, Seton Hall and the Catholic University of Ponce.
In 1985, Hernandez Colón was awarded the Order of Duarte, Sánchez y Mella. In 1987 he was awarded the Cross of Isabel the Catholic by king Juan Carlos I and the government of Spain. That same year he was awarded the "Grand Cordón del Libertador" by the government of Venenzuela, the Harvard Foundation Award, and the Spirit of the Caribbean Award. In 1989 he was awarded the Olympic Order Award.
On October 18,1991 at the Campoamor de Oviendo Theater, Hernandez Colón, received the "Principe de Asturias de las Letras" award from Felipe de Borbón.
In early 2003, his wife passed away after battling cancer. Currently, Hernández Colón maintains distance from public political engagement, but continues involved in Puerto Rico's political affairs assiting active politicians.
In June of 2005, Hernández Colón participated in a press conference, along with former PPD presidents Victoria Muñoz Mendoza and Héctor Luis Acevedo, in which he opposed efforts to turn Puerto Rico's legislature into a unicameral body. He argued that a bicameral system is superior to a unicameral one because it fosters more careful consideration of legislation.
| Preceded by: Carlos Romero Barceló | Governor of Puerto Rico 1973-1977 | Succeeded by: Carlos Romero Barceló |
| Preceded by: Carlos Romero Barceló | Governor of Puerto Rico 1985-1993 | Succeeded by: Pedro Rosselló González See also |