Pedro Rosselló | |
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Member of the Puerto Rico Senate from the Arecibo district |
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In office January 4, 2005 – January 2, 2009 |
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Preceded by | Víctor David Loubriel |
Succeeded by | Ángel Martínez Santiago |
7th Governor of Puerto Rico | |
In office January 2, 1993 – January 2, 2001 |
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Preceded by | Rafael Hernández Colón |
Succeeded by | Sila Calderón |
Personal details | |
Born |
Pedro Juan Rosselló González April 5, 1944 San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. |
Political party | New Progressive |
Other political affiliations |
Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Maga Nevares |
Children | 3, including Ricky Rosselló |
Alma mater |
Pedro Juan Rosselló González, (Spanish pronunciation: [roseˈʎo]; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the seventh Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, and served as Senator for the District of Arecibo from 2005 to 2008.
In 1988 Rosselló ran for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, but lost to Jaime Fuster in the 1988 elections. From 1990 to 1991 he successfully challenged former Governor and then-NPP President Carlos Romero Barceló for the NPP’s presidency. He was thereafter elected Governor of Puerto Rico in 1992 and in 1996 was re-elected by the widest electoral margin up to that date. He also served as President of the Council of State Governments as well as Chairman of the Southern Governors' Association, and Democratic Governors Association. In 1999 he announced against a backdrop of corruptions cases affecting his administration that he would not seek a third term, and he retired from active politics in 2001.
In 2003 Rosselló made a comeback, winning the NPP's 2004 gubernatorial nomination in primaries against then-NPP President Carlos Pesquera. He then lost the 2004 gubernatorial race to Aníbal Acevedo Vilá by an unprecedented and a vigorously disputed razor-thin margin. Soon after an elected NPP Senator from Arecibo resigned his seat and Rosselló filled the vacancy. From 2005 to 2006 Rosselló unsuccessfully sought to remove Senate President from that position and replace him. In 2008 Rosselló lost the NPP’s 2008 gubernatorial nomination to then-Resident Commissioner and future Governor Luis Fortuño. Thereafter he completed his term as Senator and retired for good from active politics.