Charlie Rodriguez
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The Honorable Charles A. Rodríguez |
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|---|---|
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| 11th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico | |
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In office 1997–2000 |
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| Governor | Pedro Rosselló |
| Preceded by | Roberto Rexach Benítez |
| Succeeded by | Antonio Fas Alzamora |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Charles Anthony Rodríguez-Colón August 26, 1954 Bronx, New York City, New York |
| Political party | New Progressive Party |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
Charles Anthony "Charlie" Rodríguez-Colón (born August 26, 1954) is a New York City-born Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (NPP). He served as the eleventh President of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1997 until 2000.
Charles Anthony Rodríguez-Colón was born in the Bronx, New York City on August 26, 1954. His parents decided to move the family to Puerto Rico in 1961. Charlie Rodríguez attended public schools in his adopted town of Carolina. He was elected president of his class of 1972 and graduated with honors from the Julio Vizcarrondo-Coronado High School of Carolina. He enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, but later transferred to Cornell University in New York, where he obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Government and History, in 1976. He also attended his first year of law school at Cornell University, from which he transferred to the University of Puerto Rico Law School achieving the degree of Juris Doctor in 1983. In that same year, he was admitted to the local state bar and eventually was admitted to practice law in the federal district and appellate courts for Puerto Rico.
At the age of 13 years, Charlie Rodríguez became active in the youth chapter of the New Progressive Party (NPP), the pro-statehood party in Puerto Rico. He held different leadership positions in the statehood youth movement, at the ward, precinct and municipal levels in his hometown of Carolina.
In 1979 he was elected president of the New Progressive Party Youth State Organization. From such position Charlie Rodríguez organized the campaign among young voters to re-elect Governor Carlos Romero Barceló. Rodríguez participated in debates and forums in universities campuses, radio and television, promoting the vision of statehood, the NPP platform and the reasons to reelect Governor Romero Barceló. The 1980 elections were decided by a small margin, the closest ever held in Puerto Rico, making the youth vote even more important.
In 1980 Charlie Rodríguez was elected State Representative At-Large. His dedication to his legislative duties led to his reelection in 1984, even though his party lost the governorship. While a member of the State House of Representatives, he assumed in 1985 the leadership of the New Progressive Party in the city of Carolina and in 1988 unsuccessfully sought the office of Mayor. However, Rodríguez obtained the highest number of votes ever achieved by a New Progressive Party candidate for Mayor in Carolina.
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