Sila Calderón | |
---|---|
8th Governor of Puerto Rico | |
In office January 2, 2001 – January 2, 2005 |
|
Preceded by | Pedro Rosselló |
Succeeded by | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
Mayor of San Juan | |
In office January 2, 1997 – January 2, 2001 |
|
Preceded by | Héctor Luis Acevedo |
Succeeded by | Jorge Santini |
12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico | |
In office 1988–1989 |
|
Governor | Rafael Hernández Colón |
Preceded by | Alfonso Lopez Chaar |
Succeeded by | Antonio Colorado |
Personal details | |
Born |
Sila María Calderón Serra September 23, 1942 San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. |
Political party | Popular Democratic |
Other political affiliations |
Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Francisco González (1964–1975) Adolfo Krans (1978–2001) Ramón Cantero Frau (2003–2005) |
Children |
Sila María María Elena Francisco Xavier |
Alma mater |
Manhattanville College University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras |
Religion |
Roman Catholicism |
Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first and, to date, only woman elected to that office. Prior to serving as governor, Calderón held various positions in the Government of Puerto Rico, including the 12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from 1988 to 1989, and Chief of Staff to Governor Rafael Hernández Colón. She was also Mayor of San Juan, the Capital of Puerto Rico, from 1997 to 2001.
Sila Calderón was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 23, 1942 to entrepreneur César Augusto Calderón and Sila Serra. She attended high school at the Colegio Sagrado Corazón de Las Madres in Santurce, Puerto Rico. In 1964 she graduated with honors from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. She later attended the Graduate School of Public Administration at the University of Puerto Rico.
Her career began in 1973 when she was named Executive Aide to the Labor Secretary, Luis Silva Recio. Two years later, she was named Special Aide for Economic Development to then Governor, Rafael Hernández Colón.
After Hernández Colón was defeated in the 1976 general elections, Calderón went to work on the private sector working as Director of Business Development at Citibank, N.A. in San Juan. At the time, Citibank in San Juan was one of John Reed's experimental marketing centers. As part of her business development responsibilities, Calderón designed and marketed several new consumer products which significantly increased the earnings of the Retail Division of the Bank. In 1978, she became president of Commonwealth Investment Company, a family real estate concern that owned and managed industrial buildings.