María de Lourdes Santiago
{{short description|Puerto Rican politician}}
{{Infobox office holder
| name = María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón
| image = María de Lourdes Santiago.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Santiago in 2021
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|11|13}}
| birth_place = Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
| birth_name =
| nationality = Puerto Rican
| party = PIP
| spouse =
| children = Jose Julián
| alma_mater = University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus {{small|(B.A. in Drama; J.D.)}}
| occupation = {{flatlist|
}}
| office1 = Member of Puerto Rican Senate
from at-large district
| term_start1 = January 2, 2021
| term_end1 =
| term_start2 = January 2, 2013
| term_end2 = January 2, 2017
| term_start3 = January 2, 2005
| term_end3 = January 1, 2009
| office = Vice President of Puerto Rican Independence Party
| term_start = 2001
| website = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20090122154238/http://senadopr.us/senadores/sen_msantiago.php|Website}}
}}
María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón is a Puerto Rican lawyer and politician from Adjuntas. She is the current vice-president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and in 2004 became the first woman from that party to be elected into the Senate in the history of Puerto Rico.{{Cite journal |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/conlahonradezcomoagenda-1315739/|date=August 5, 2012|journal =El Nuevo Día|title =Con la honradez como agenda|language= es |access-date=June 7, 2016}} She currently serves as Senator at-large at the Puerto Rico Senate after being elected in 2020 with the most votes of any candidate.{{Cite web|title=María de Lourdes Santiago está "sorprendida y agradecida" tras amplia elección al Senado por acumulación|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/politica/notas/maria-de-lourdes-santiago-esta-sorprendida-y-agradecida-tras-amplia-eleccion-al-senado-por-acumulacion/|access-date=2021-03-01|website=El Nuevo Día|date=4 November 2020|language=spanish}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20211125153007/https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/politica/notas/maria-de-lourdes-santiago-esta-sorprendida-y-agradecida-tras-amplia-eleccion-al-senado-por-acumulacion/ Archived.] She was re-elected in 2024.{{Cite journal |url=https://www.periodicolaperla.com/elecciones-2024/maria-de-lourdes-santiago-domina-en-el-senado-por-acumulacion/|date=November 6, 2024|journal =La Perla del Sur|title =María de Lourdes Santiago domina en el Senado por acumulación|language= es |access-date=November 6, 2024}}
Biographical facts
Santiago Negrón was born in Adjuntas[https://web.archive.org/web/20090122154238/http://senadopr.us/senadores/sen_msantiago.php Hon. María de Lourdes Santiago.] Senate of Puerto Rico. Accessed February 13, 2018. on November 13, 1968,[http://endata.prdecide.elnuevodia.com/legislativo/100 Perfil de María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón, Senador(a).] ENData Legislativo. El Nuevo Dia. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Accessed February 13, 2018. to Ernesto Santiago and Haydée Negrón.[http://independencia.net/2015-11-30-02-46-29/2015-12-02-03-38-18/maria-de-lourdes-santiago-2 María de Lourdes Santiago.] Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño. September 19, 2010. Accessed February 13, 2018. After graduating from high school in Adjuntas in 1986, she earned a bachelor's degree in theatre and a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras.
Career
From 1997 to 2000, she worked as a legal counsel for Victor García San Inocencio while he served in the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, and for Manuel Rodríguez Orellana and Fernando Martín García while they served as Senators.
In January 2001, she was elected as vice-president of her political party, and in 2003 announced her candidacy as Senator for the Puerto Rico General Elections of 2004. On November 2, 2004, Santiago was elected, becoming the first woman to represent the Puerto Rican Independence Party in Puerto Rico's Senate.
As a senator, Santiago has been involved in women's, mental health and special education issues, among others.
Santiago is the writer of a column that is published in the El Vocero newspaper. She was arrested during the Navy-Vieques protests for illegally trespassing military facilities to protest the United States military's bombing practice in Vieques. She spent one month in jail as part of her sentence.
Personal life
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Facebook|mariadelourdessantiagopip}}
- {{TikTok|mariadelourdespip}}
- [https://twitter.com/home Official X account]
- [https://mariadelourdes.net/conoceme/ official site]
- {{Instagram|mariadelourdessantiago}}
- [https://mariadelourdes.net/conoceme/ Biography]
- [http://www.independencia.net Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)] {{in lang|es}}
- [http://www.independencia.net/2015-11-30-02-46-29/2015-12-02-03-38-18/maria-de-lourdes-santiago-2 Santiago Biography at the PIP website - official site] {{in lang|es}}, {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002094010/http://www.independencia.net/2015-11-30-02-46-29/2015-12-02-03-38-18/maria-de-lourdes-santiago-2 |date=October 2, 2016 }}
{{25th Senate of Puerto Rico}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, Maria De Lourdes}}
Category:Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico
Category:People from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
Category:Puerto Rican independence activists
Category:Puerto Rico Independence Party politicians
Category:Puerto Rican nationalists
Category:Puerto Rican women in politics
Category:University of Puerto Rico alumni
Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico