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Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

{{short description|Highest-ranking officer and the presiding officer of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

{{Infobox political post

| post = Speaker

| body = the
House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

| insignia = Seal of the President of Puerto Rico House of Representatives.svg

| image = Representante Carlos Méndez Núñez 2021.jpg

| incumbent = Carlos Johnny Méndez

| incumbentsince = January 2, 2025

| style = The Honorable
diplomatic
Mister Speaker
when presiding over the House

| nominator = nominated internally by the House

| appointer = elected internally by the House

| termlength = 4 years

| deputy = Speaker pro tempore

| inaugural = Manuel F. Rossy

| formation = Foraker Act
Jones–Shafroth Act
Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico

}}

The President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico —commonly called the Speaker of the House ({{langx|es|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.{{cite constitution |article=III |section=9 |country=Puerto Rico |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Puerto_Rico |date=July 25, 1952 |accessdate=August 9, 2013 }} The Speaker is typically elected during the House inaugural session.R. de la C. 126 del 2013, [http://www.camaraderepresentantes.org/reglas2013.pdf?d=1 "Reglamento de la Cámara de Representantes del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico"] (in Spanish) House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (January 15, 2013). Retrieved on August 9, 2013.

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 District 36 from the New Progressive Party

Background

The Speaker traces its history back to more than {{years ago|1900|04|12}} 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.

Functions

Typically the Speaker is responsible for the observance and compliance of the House internal rules. He also typically:

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  • presides all joint commissions,
  • resolves and decides all parliamentary situations and rules of order brought in sessions,
  • names all permanent and special commissions of the House, as well as being a member ex officio of each one,
  • signs all bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, reorganization plans, and simple resolutions approved by the House and the Legislative Assembly,
  • convenes special sessions of the House,
  • maintains order and decorum in the House, a responsibility typically delegated to the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House,
  • must vote in all matters presented in the House (can not abstain),
  • represents the House in all forums,
  • is responsible for all administrative matters of the House, a responsibility typically delegated to the Secretary of the House,
  • prepares an annual and monthly report detailing all work done by the House,
  • appoints an internal auditor for the House,
  • prepares the budget of the House,
  • prepares a registry of all lobbyists that must be freely available to the public,
  • is responsible of providing free access to the public to all works generated by the House, and
  • offers training and continuing education opportunities to House members, advisors, and employees.

}}

Speakers

{{main|List of Speakers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

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}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 0 auto"

|+ {{legend2|#FFB6B6|Republican Party|border=1px solid #aaa}}{{spaces|2}}{{legend2|#FFBBFF|Union Party|border=1px solid #aaa}}{{spaces|2}}{{legend2|#D7EAF9|New Progressive Party|border=1px solid #aaa}}{{spaces|2}}{{legend2|#FFE8E8|Popular Democratic Party|border=1px solid #aaa}}

! #

! Portrait

! Name

! Took office

! Left office

! Party

! Speaker pro tempore

{{Party shading/Republican}}

! 1

|

| Manuel F. Rossy Calderón

| December 3, 1900

| December 31, 1904

| Republican

|

{{Party shading/Union}}

! 2

| 125px

| Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón

| January 10, 1905

| December 31, 1906

| Union

|

{{Party shading/Union}}

! 3

|

| Francisco P. Acuña y Paniagua

| January 14, 1907

| March 6, 1907

| Union

|

{{Party shading/Union}}

! 4

| File:Jose de Diego 2.jpg

| José de Diego Martínez

| March 6, 1907

| July 16, 1918

| Union

| Juan Bernardo Huyke

{{Party shading/Union}}

! 5

|

| Juan Bernardo Huyke

| November 26, 1918

| December 31, 1920

| Union

| Miguel Guerra Mondragón

{{Party shading/Union}}

! 6

| 125px

| Cayetano Coll y Cuchí

| February 14, 1921

| February 11, 1923

| Union

| Alfonso Lastra Chárriez

{{Party shading/Union}}

! 7

|

| Miguel Guerra Mondragrón

| February 12, 1923

| December 31, 1924

| Union

| Alfonso Lastra Chárriez

{{Party shading/Republican}}

! 8

|

| José Tous Soto

| February 9, 1925

| February 18, 1930

| Republican

| Miguel Guerra Modragón
1925–1929

Benigno Fernández García
1929–1930

{{Party shading/Republican}}

! 9

|

| Manuel F. Rossy Calderón

| February 20, 1930

| August 6, 1932

| Republican

| Enrique Landrón Otero
1930

Rafael Alonso Torres
1930–1931

{{Party shading/Republican}}

! 10

|

| Rafael Alonso Torres

| October 18, 1932

| December 31, 1932

| Socialist

| Jorge Romaní

{{Party shading/Republican}}

! 11

|

| Miguel A. García Méndez

| February 13, 1933

| December 31, 1940

| Republican

| Rafael Alonso Torres

{{Party shading/red}}

! 12

| File:Samuel R. Quiñones.jpg

| Samuel R. Quiñones Quiñones

| February 12, 1941

| March 5, 1943

| PPD

| Luis Sánchez Frasqueri

{{Party shading/Republican}}

! 13

|

| Rafael Arrillaga Torrens

| March 5, 1943

| February 24, 1944

| Socialist

| Julio Reguero González

{{Party shading/Republican}}

! 14

|

| Rafael Rodríguez Pacheco

| February 24, 1944

| December 31, 1944

| Republican

| Julio Reguero González

{{Party shading/red}}

! 15

|

| María L. Gómez Garriga

| January 11, 1945

| February 12, 1945

| PPD

| Guillermo Alicea Campos

{{Party shading/red}}

! 16

|

| Francisco M. Susoni Abreu

| February 12, 1945

| June 5, 1948

| PPD

| Ernesto Ramos Antonini

{{Party shading/red}}

! 17

|

| Ernesto Ramos Antonini

| June 22, 1948

| January 9, 1963

| PPD

| Benjamín Ortiz Ortiz
1949–1952

María L. Gómez Garriga
1953–1956

Jorge Font Saldaña
1957–1962

{{Party shading/red}}

! 18

| File:Santiago Polanco Abreu.jpg

| Santiago Polanco Abreu

| January 14, 1963

| December 31, 1964

| PPD

| Benjamín Ortiz Ortiz

{{Party shading/red}}

! 19

|

| Arcilio Alvarado Alvarado

| January 11, 1965

| December 31, 1968

| PPD

| Aguedo Mojica

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 20

|

| Angel Viera Martínez

| January 13, 1969

| December 31, 1972

| PNP

| Rubén Otero Bosco
1969–1970

José E. Salichs Lope de Haro
1970–1972

{{Party shading/red}}

! 21

| 125px

| Luis E. Ramos Yordán

| January 8, 1973

| December 31, 1976

| PPD

| Severo Colberg Ramírez

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 22

|

| Angel Viera Martínez

| January 10, 1977

| January 28, 1982

| PNP

| José N. Granados Navedos
1977 – 1978

José E. Salichs Lope de Haro
1978 – December 31, 1980

Severo Colberg Ramírez
1981 – 1982

{{Party shading/red}}

! 23

|

| Severo Colberg Ramírez

| January 28, 1982

| December 31, 1984

| PPD

| Presby Santiago García

{{Party shading/red}}

! 24

|

| José R. Jarabo Alvarez

| January 14, 1985

| December 31, 1992

| PPD

| Samuel Ramírez Torres

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 25

|

| Zaida R. Hernández Torres

| January 11, 1993

| December 31, 1996

| PNP

| Edison Misla Aldarondo

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 26

|

| Edison Misla Aldarondo

| January 13, 1997

| December 31, 2000

| PNP

| José N. Granados Navedos
January 1997 – June 30, 1999

Edwin Mundo Ríos
June 30, 1999 – December 31, 2000

{{Party shading/red}}

! 27

|

| Carlos Vizcarrondo Irizarry

| January 8, 2001

| December 31, 2004

| PPD

| Ferdinand Pérez Román

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 28

| File:Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, Hon. Jose Aponte.jpg

| José F. Aponte Hernández

| January 10, 2005

| December 31, 2008

| PNP

| Epifanio Jiménez

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 29

| 125px

| Jenniffer A. González Colón

| January 12, 2009

| December 31, 2012

| PNP

| Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló

{{Party shading/Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico}}

! 30

| 125px

| Jaime Perelló

| January 14, 2013

| August 29, 2016

| PPD

| Roberto Rivera

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 31

| 125px

| Carlos Johnny Méndez

| January 9, 2017

| December 31, 2020

| PNP

| José Torres Zamora

{{Party shading/red}}

! 32

| 125px

| Rafael Hernández Montañez

| January 11, 2021

| January 2, 2025

| PPD

| José "Conny" Varela

{{Party shading/blue}}

! 33

| 125px

| Carlos Johnny Méndez

| January 2, 2025

| present

| PNP

| Angel Peña Ramírez

Speakers ''pro tempore''

The Vice President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (commonly called the Speaker pro tempore) is the second highest-ranking officer of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. The Speaker pro tempore substitutes the Speaker of the House in his absence. The Speaker pro tempore has a counterpart in the Senate by the President pro tempore of the Senate.

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See also

References

{{reflist|2}}

{{Officers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

Category:Officers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

Category:1900 establishments in Puerto Rico