Luis Fortuño
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This Luis G. Fortuño contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election. Content may change as the election approaches. |
| Luis G. Fortuño Burset | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Born | October 31, 1960 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | New Progressive Party Republican Party |
| Spouse | Lucé Vela |
Luis G. Fortuño Burset (born October 31, 1960 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a corporate lawyer and politician from Puerto Rico and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States Congress, a post held since January 3, 2005. Fortuño is the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (NPP).[1] He is also a member of the United States Republican Party, and the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference and the Ranking Member of the newly-created House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs. Fortuño became the New Progressive Party's 2008 gubernatorial candidate after winning the NPP primary held on March 9, 2008 by a 3-to-2 margin.
Contents |
[edit] Education and early life
Luis G Fortuño Burset attended Colegio Marista of Guaynabo, graduating in 1977. He then received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (B.S.F.S.) degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. In 1985, he received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. During this period, Fortuño was an intern at the Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in Washington, D.C..
While in college, Luis Fortuño co-founded the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association (PRSSA) and presided it from 1980 to 1981. During the 1980 gubernatorial election recount, the over 1,500 absentee ballots generated by PRSSA and Fortuño for incumbent Governor Carlos Romero Barceló was an important factor in his reelection by an approximately 3,000-vote margin.[2] Fortuño was also active in other pro-statehood youth organizations and in the Republican Party.
He is married to attorney Luz E. Vela Gutierrez and has triplets, María Luisa, Luis Roberto and Guillermo, who were born in 1991.
[edit] Public service
Fortuño Burset entered public service in 1993 at the start of Governor Pedro Rosselló's administration. He was first appointed Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and President of Puerto Rico's Hotel Development Corporation (HDC). In 1994, he became Puerto Rico's first Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce.
Fortuño Burset was tasked with the development and implementation of large-scale reforms of Puerto Rico's tax, labor, corporate and commercial codes, aimed at facilitating business growth and job creation, reducing bureaucracy, and tax reform. Fortuño succeeded in the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code, the revamping of the General Corporations Law, an aggressive investment package to jumpstart the tourism industry, and the largest tax cut in Puerto Rico's history.
Fortuño was named 1996 Man of the Year by Caribbean Business, 1995 Public Servant of the Year by the Marketing Industry and Distribution of Food and Beverage Products Association of Puerto Rico, 1994 Public Servant of the Year by the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, and 1994 Distinguished Executive by the Sales and Marketing Executives Association of Ponce and the Southern Region of Puerto Rico. He served on numerous boards of directors, including the Ana G. Méndez University System and the Puerto Rico Museum of Art. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the Urban Land Institute.
In 1996, he served on the Platform Committee at the Republican National Convention, where he was successful in including the support for self-determination and eventual statehood for Puerto Rico in the party platform.
Fortuño resigned his cabinet posts after Rosselló's reelection in 1996 and returned to private law practice.
[edit] Private practice
Following public service, Fortuño was a partner at the San Juan law firm of Correa, Collazo, Herrero, Jiménez & Fortuño specializing in corporate finance and real estate law. He was briefly mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico in 1999 for the New Progressive Party after Governor Rosselló announced he would not seek a third term in the 2000 election cycle.
[edit] Political career
[edit] 2004 Campaign for Resident Commissioner
Fortuño decided to seek the New Progressive Party's nomination for the post of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico late in the primaries. He won the November 2003 primaries with 61.28% of votes and defeated former senator Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer (4.26% of votes), former Senate President Charlie Rodriguez (6.29% of votes), and former Governor and Resident Commissioner Carlos Romero Barceló (25.78% of votes).
After winning the primary, he picked up momentum within the Republican Party ranks in the U.S. when he received the endorsement of Ed Gillespie, head of the Republican National Committee. Fortuño was the running mate of former Governor Rosselló, who returned for a third bid as the NPP's candidate for Governor.
In the elections of 2004, Fortuño was victorious (48.5% of votes) over his main rival candidate Roberto Prats (48% of votes) of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP). However, Fortuño's running mate Rosselló lost his bid for the governor's seat to then Resident Commissioner Aníbal Acevedo Vilá by less than 4,000 votes. This meant that Fortuño would be the Resident Commissioner under Governor Acevedo Vilá of the PDP. This is the first time in Puerto Rican history that the Governor of Puerto Rico and the Resident Commissioner are not from the same political party.
[edit] Resident Commissioner
Upon the commencement of the 109th Congress, Fortuño was elected by his colleagues to serve as vice-president of the House Republican freshman class. He served as vice-chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference during the 109th Congress and as chair during the 110th Congress. House Resources Committee Ranking Member Don Young appointed him in January 2007 as the Republican minority's Ranking Member in the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs for the 110th Congress. Fortuño cosponsored the Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007, which would give Puerto Ricans the option to become a US state or sovereign state. In October, 2007, Fortuño filed legislation, along with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to assure the continued operation of the Arecibo Radiotelescope.
Fortuño was re-elected by the Republican Party of Puerto Rico's General Assembly to continue serving as National Committeeman, a position he has held since 2001. He won reelection as National Committeeman in the GOP convention held on May 20, 2007 in Yauco, Puerto Rico.
In 2007, Fortuño joined Rep. José Serrano (D-NY) and 128 other co-sponsors in filing HR 900, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, to establish a self-determination process leading to political status change for Puerto Rico. The bill was amended and approved in a voice vote by the House's Committee on Resources on October 23, a major victory for Fortuño.
[edit] 2008 Campaign for Governor of Puerto Rico
[edit] 2008 New Progressive Party Primaries
A poll taken before Fortuño Burset announced his gubernatorial bid in February 2007 suggests he is the most well-liked public figure in the NPP. The poll, taken by Gaither International at the request of Caribbean Business newspaper, indicates that Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Fortuño's likely opponent, would fare badly in the general election. Another poll released in May 2007 and taken by Kaagan Research Associates, Inc. at the request of El Nuevo Día, a major circulation newspaper, showed Fortuño with a 46% to 25% advantage over incumbent Governor Acevedo Vilá. This May 16, 2007 poll also showed Fortuño winning a primary election against Pedro Rosselló 49% to 37%.
On February 19, 2007, Fortuño Burset announced his candidacy for Governor of Puerto Rico for the 2008 general election. Fortuño Burset faced former 2004 running mate and former Gov. Pedro Juan Rosselló González in an NPP primary on March 9, 2008 which he won by a 60% to 40% margin.
On May 18, 2007 Fortuño announced that former Attorney General Pedro J. Pierluisi Urrutia would be his running mate and run for Fortuño's current office of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Pierluisi Urrutia was a classmate at Colegio Marista and was also a fellow cabinet member of Fortuño's during former Governor Rosselló's first term from 1993 to 1996.
On March 9, 2008, Fortuño easily defeated Rosselló, becoming the new president of the NPP and its official candidate for Governor.[1] Fortuño won the candidacy by obtaining nearly 60% of primary votes. Fortuño's running mate and now official candidate for Resident Commissioner, Pedro J. Pierluisi Urrutia, also won his primary.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Luis Fortuño at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Luis Fortuño's official 2008 campaign site for Governor of Puerto Rico (Spanish)
- Luis Fortuño's MySpace site
- Carribbean Business article on Dec. 2006 Caribbean Business/Gaither/WOSO poll
- Independent Spanish website supporting Luis Fortuño and Pedro Pierluisi
| Preceded by Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives from Puerto Rico 2005 – present |
Incumbent |
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||
