Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Incumbent Carlos Johnny Méndez since January 9, 2017
Style	The Honorable diplomatic Mister Speaker when presiding over the House
Nominator	nominated internally by the House
Appointer	elected internally by the House
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Manuel F. Rossy
Formation	Foraker Act Jones–Shafroth Act Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico
Deputy	Speaker pro tempore

The President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico —commonly called the Speaker of the House (Spanish: Presidente de la Cámara de Representantes)— is the highest-ranking officer and the presiding officer of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. The Speaker has voting powers as it is elected amongst the own members of the House as established by Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. The Constitution, however, does not establish its functions and since the House is the only body authorized by the Constitution to regulate its own internal affairs, the functions of the Speaker vary from session to session—save being called "Speaker" as the Constitution establishes. The Speaker is typically elected during the House inaugural session.

When absent, the Speaker is substituted by the Speaker pro tempore. Its counterpart in the Senate is the President of the Senate.

The current Speaker is Carlos Johnny Méndez, representative at-large from the New Progressive Party.

The Speaker traces its history back to more than 117 years ago when the Foraker Act formally established the post on April 12, 1900. Several laws eventually superseded said act, and the post was eventually established by the Constitution of Puerto Rico, specifically Article III, which establishes that, "[...]the House of Representatives [shall elect] a Speaker from among [its] members." The Constitution, however, does not establish what a "Speaker" is nor what its function should be. Internal rules adopted by the House through a simple resolution establish its definition, functions, responsibilities, and legal scope.