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| Order: | 6th Democratically Elected Governor | ||
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| Term of Office: | January 2, 1993– January 2, 2001 | ||
| Predecessor: | Rafael Hernández Colón | ||
| Successor: | Sila Calderón | ||
| Date of Birth: | Monday, April 5, 1944 | ||
| Place of Birth: | San Juan, Puerto Rico | ||
| First Lady: | Maga Nevares | ||
| Profession: | Pedriatician | ||
| Political Party: | New Progressive Party | ||
| Resident Commissioner: | Carlos Romero Barceló (1993-2001) | ||
Pedro Juan Rosselló González (born April 5, 1944) was the sixth democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He also served as President of the Council of State Governments as well as Chairman of the Southern Governors Association. Rosselló sought a third term on the General Elections of 2004 but was defeated by Resident Commissioner Aníbal Acevedo Vilá by a margin of 3,566 votes. He currently holds a seat in the Senate of Puerto Rico.
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Education
Rosselló began studying at Academia Santa Teresita, and graduated from high school in 1962 from Academia del Perpetuo Socorro in Miramar, a suburb of San Juan. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Science, Magna Cum Laude at the University of Notre Dame in 1966, as well as academic distinctions for best student and athlete. After graduation, he continued his studies in Medicine at Yale University, which he completed in 1970, also graduating Magna Cum Laude and later specialized in general and pediatric surgery in Harvard university. He later attended the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus where he earned a Master's in Public Health (MPH) degree in 1981, also graduating magna Cum Laude. He later obtained a degree in Education from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.
Professional career
Rosselló started his professional career alternating as an instructor at Harvard Medical School and as an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, where he would later become an associate professor.
He became Chief of Pediatric Surgery and later Chief Surgeon at the University of Puerto Rico Children's Hospital. In 1985, Rosselló was named Director of Health for the city of San Juan by the city's mayor at the time, Baltasar Corrada del Río.
Political career
Rosselló became active in politics in 1988 when he ran for the post of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, losing to Jaime Fuster of the PPD. Nevertheless, he became the candidate from the New Progressive Party to obtain the most votes in the 1988 Elections. In 1991 he became president of the New Progresive Party, succesfully leading an opposition to the the December 8 referendum. In 1992 he succesfully ran for Governor of Puerto Rico, defeating Victoria Muñoz Mendoza, Luis Muñoz Marín daughter. In 1996, he ran for re-election against Hector Luis Acevedo (PPD)), Mayor of San Juan at the time, and David Noriega (PIP), winning a second term as governor obtaining more than one million votes.
Governor
While governor, Rosselló launched a anti-crime campaign known as "Mano Dura Contra el Crimen" ("Heavy handed towards crime") in which the Puerto Rico National Guard was used to assist state police. His administration was characterized by involvement in big construction and other large-scale government projects which included a light-rail train system dubbed Tren Urbano and a massive aqueduct system which linked two major water reservoirs on the island. His policies also included a push toward privatization of public entities.
Under his administration a Health Care reform bill was approved. He lead two campaigns for Puerto Rican statehood in 1993 and 1998 in which plebiscites where held to consult the Puerto Rican public on the political status with the United States. The current Commonwealth formula prevailed on both consultations by a slight margin.
In 1998, the sale of the state-owned Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC) to GTE led to a general strike organized by labor unions. A similar attempt to privatize PRTC in 1988, under then Governor Rafael Hernández Colón, led to a similar strike which aborted the sale. Under Rosello's administration, the sale proceeded nonetheless. The sale price was 1.9 million dollars, which union leaders described as "ridiculously low" (PRTC generated about a billion dollars of yearly sales at the time of the sale).
Vieques
In April 1999, a U.S. Navy bomber mis-fired its missiles at a practice range and struck Watch-post in Vieques, Puerto Rico, killing a civilian. The protests which followed in the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques gathered international attention (see Navy-Vieques protests). The people of Puerto Rico began massive protest asking for the departure of the Navy from the island of Vieques. Governor Rosselló at first supported the immediate exit of the Navy, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee pressing the Senators, among them John Warner and James Inhofe, to immediately take action so that the Navy leave the island. In 2000, Rosselló and then U.S. President Bill Clinton came into "agreement" that the U.S. Navy would leave the island of Vieques by the year 2003, if voters in Vieques chose so in a referendum. After Clinton and Rosselló left office the Navy canceled the referendum. However, President Bush ordered the Navy to leave Vieques, and the Navy finally left Vieques on May 1, 2003.
Corruption controversies
His last term was marred by a large number of accusations and the convictions of some members of his administration on corruption charges. As of November 2004, over 30 members of the administration have been convicted and several more arrested, including his Education Secretary Victor Fajardo, and several other Cabinet members, mayors, legislators and campaign organizers. Also, dozens of contractors, administrators and businessmen are being prosecuted for involvement in bribery and extortion schemes. His personal assistant, Maria de los Angeles "Angie" Rivera, was found guilty of extortion and other charges and sentenced on June 1, 2005 by a federal judge to four years in prison. Rossello maintains he was unaware of the illegal activity.
Retirement and return
In early 2001 Rosselló moved to the state of Virginia, where he taught at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland and George Washington University in Washington, DC. In 2003 he returned to politics and won his party's nomination for the gubernatorial candidacy in a primary election against Carlos Pesquera, by an overwhelming majority of the votes. This primary election was the first ever held in PR for that position in the electoral ballot. In the 2004 Puerto Rico Elections elections his party won the majority in both branches of the Legislature, the majority of municipalities and also won the seat of Resident Commissioner. However, Rosselló was defeated by Resident Commissioner Aníbal Acevedo Vilá by a close margin which required a recount by law.
A recount of the took place since the margin of victory of Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was less than 4,000 votes. During the period, Rosselló argued that certain ballots in which voters made multiple marks on the ballot where invalid. Even though the Puerto Rico Supreme court ruled that the votes where valid and should be counted, a Federal district judge ordered the votes be counted but not tallied to the final count until he reached a final decision on the matter. An appeals court would later side with the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and the disputed votes where counted and finally tallied. On December 28, 2004 Acevedo Vilá was certified as the elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Rosselló had lost by a margin of 3,566 votes and maintains that Acevedo Vilá is not the legitimate governor of Puerto Rico.
Senator
Rosselló was able to gain a seat in the Senate of Puerto Rico when Victor Loubriel, an elected first-time senator surprisingly announced his resignation shortly after being sworn in. Opposition parties denounced the elected senator's resignation as pressured by Rossello's supporters so that he could fill in his vacancy. The senator's resignation gave the New Progressive Party a seat it could fill, Rosselló announced his intentions of filling in the vacant position and officially assumed duties on February 13, 2005. Senator Rosselló announced his intentions to challenge the current Senate President, Kenneth McClintock to the Senate Presidency. An internal power struggle within the New Progressive Party is currently underway between Rosselló and the current President of the Senate.
See also
External links
- rossello.com (http://www.rossello.com) - Rosselló's campaign website.
- Puerto Rico Elections Commission (http://www.ceepur.org) - Up-to-date results of the 2004 elections and the recount.
| Preceded by: Rafael Hernández Colón | Governor of Puerto Rico 1993-2001 | Succeeded by: Sila Calderón es:Pedro Rosselló González |