- Luis Fortuño
Infobox_Congressman
name = Luis G. Fortuño Burset
date of birth = birth date and age|1960|10|31
place of birth = San Juan,Puerto Rico
death_date =
death_place =
state =Puerto Rico
district =At-large
term_start =January 3 ,2005
preceded =Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá
succeeded = Incumbent
party = New Progressive Party
Republican Party
spouse = Lucé Vela
occupation= attorney
religion=Roman Catholic
alma_mater=Georgetown University ,University of Virginia
residence=Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Luis G. Fortuño Burset (born
October 31 ,1960 inSan Juan, Puerto Rico ) is acorporate lawyer andpolitician fromPuerto Rico and theResident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to theUnited States Congress , a post held sinceJanuary 3 ,2005 . Fortuño is the president of theNew Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (NPP).cite web |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpzz4Rl5kO3y-rhwOAdZf2AR_wdQD8VAC3PO0 |title= Fortuno Wins Puerto Rico Primary|accessdate=2008-03-09 |author=Yaisha Vargas |date=2008-03-09 |work= |publisher=Associated Press] He is also a member of theUnited States Republican Party , and the Chair of theCongressional Hispanic Conference and the Ranking Member of the newly-created House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs. Fortuño became the New Progressive Party's 2008 gubernatorial candidate after winning the NPP primary held on March 9, 2008 by a 3-to-2 margin.Education and early life
Luis G Fortuño Burset attended
Colegio Marista of Guaynabo, graduating in 1977. He then received aBachelor of Science inForeign Service (B.S.F.S.) degree from theEdmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service atGeorgetown University . In 1985, he received aJuris Doctor (J.D.) degree from theUniversity of Virginia School of Law . During this period, Fortuño was an intern at the Office of the Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico inWashington, D.C. .While in college, Luis Fortuño co-founded the
Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association (PRSSA) withKenneth McClintock and presided it from 1980 to 1981. During the 1980 gubernatorial election recount, the over 1,500 absentee ballots generated by PRSSA and Fortuño for incumbent GovernorCarlos Romero Barceló was an important factor in his reelection by an approximately 3,000-vote margin. [ [http://www.prssa.we.bs/history.html] PRSSA History ] Fortuño was also active in other pro-statehood youth organizations and in the Republican Party.He is married to attorney
Luce Vela Gutierrez and has triplets, María Luisa, Luis Roberto and Guillermo, who were born in 1991.Public service
Fortuño Burset entered public service in 1993 at the start of Governor
Pedro Rosselló 's administration. He was first appointed Executive Director of thePuerto Rico Tourism Company and President of Puerto Rico'sHotel Development Corporation (HDC). In 1994, he became Puerto Rico's first Secretary of thePuerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce .Fortuño Burset was tasked with the development and implementation of large-scale reforms of Puerto Rico's tax, labor, corporate and commercial codes, aimed at facilitating business growth and job creation, reducing bureaucracy, and tax reform. Fortuño succeeded in the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code, the revamping of the General Corporations Law, an aggressive investment package to jumpstart the tourism industry, and the largest tax cut in Puerto Rico's history.
Fortuño was named 1996 Man of the Year by
Caribbean Business , 1995 Public Servant of the Year by the Marketing Industry and Distribution of Food and Beverage Products Association of Puerto Rico, 1994 Public Servant of the Year by thePuerto Rico Chamber of Commerce , and 1994 Distinguished Executive by the Sales and Marketing Executives Association of Ponce and the Southern Region of Puerto Rico. He served on numerous boards of directors, including theAna G. Méndez University System and thePuerto Rico Museum of Art . He is a member of the American Law Institute and the Urban Land Institute.In 1996, he served on the Platform Committee at the
Republican National Convention , where he was successful in including the support for self-determination and eventual statehood for Puerto Rico in the party platform.Fortuño resigned his cabinet posts after Rosselló's reelection in 1996 and returned to private law practice.
Private practice
Following public service, Fortuño was a partner at the San Juan law firm of
Correa, Collazo, Herrero, Jiménez & Fortuño specializing in corporate finance and real estate law. Prior to joining Correa, Collazo, Herrero, Jiménez & Fortuño, he was a partner atMcConnell Valdés . He was briefly mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico in 1999 for the New Progressive Party after Governor Rosselló announced he would not seek a third term in the 2000 election cycle.Political career
[
2005 .]2004 Campaign for Resident Commissioner
Fortuño decided to seek the New Progressive Party's nomination for the post of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico late in the primaries. He won the November 2003 primaries with 61.28% of votes and defeated former senator Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer (4.26% of votes), former Senate President
Charlie Rodriguez (6.29% of votes), and former Governor and Resident CommissionerCarlos Romero Barceló (25.78% of votes).After winning the primary, he picked up momentum within the Republican Party ranks in the U.S. when he received the endorsement of
Ed Gillespie , head of theRepublican National Committee . Fortuño was the running mate of former Governor Rosselló, who returned for a third bid as the NPP's candidate for Governor.In the elections of 2004, Fortuño was victorious (48.5% of votes) over his main rival candidate
Roberto Prats (48% of votes) of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP). However, Fortuño's running mate Rosselló lost his bid for the governor's seat to then Resident CommissionerAníbal Acevedo Vilá by less than 4,000 votes. This meant that Fortuño would be the Resident Commissioner under Governor Acevedo Vilá of the PDP. This is the first time in Puerto Rican history that the Governor of Puerto Rico and the Resident Commissioner are not from the same political party.Resident Commissioner
Upon the commencement of the 109th Congress, Fortuño was elected by his colleagues to serve as vice-president of the House Republican freshman class. He served as vice-chair of the
Congressional Hispanic Conference during the 109th Congress and as chair during the 110th Congress. House Resources Committee Ranking MemberDon Young appointed him in January 2007 as the Republican minority's Ranking Member in the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs for the 110th Congress. Fortuño cosponsored thePuerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007 , which would give Puerto Ricans the option to become a US state or sovereign state. In October, 2007, Fortuño filed legislation, along with Rep.Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to assure the continued operation of theArecibo Radiotelescope .Fortuño was re-elected by the Republican Party of Puerto Rico's General Assembly to continue serving as National Committeeman, a position he has held since 2001. He won reelection as National Committeeman in the GOP convention held on May 20, 2007 in Yauco, Puerto Rico.
In 2007, Fortuño joined Rep.
José Serrano (D-NY) and 128 other co-sponsors in filing HR 900, thePuerto Rico Democracy Act , to establish a self-determination process leading to political status change for Puerto Rico. The bill was amended and approved in a voice vote by the House's Committee on Resources on October 23, a major victory for Fortuño.Gubernatorial campaign
A poll taken before Fortuño Burset announced his gubernatorial bid in February 2007 suggests he is the most well-liked public figure in the NPP. The poll, taken by Gaither International at the request of
Caribbean Business newspaper, indicates that GovernorAníbal Acevedo Vilá , Fortuño's likely opponent, would fare badly in the general election. Another poll released in May 2007 and taken by Kaagan Research Associates, Inc. at the request ofEl Nuevo Día , a major circulation newspaper, showed Fortuño with a 46% to 25% advantage over incumbent Governor Acevedo Vilá. ThisMay 16 2007 poll also showed Fortuño winning a primary election against Pedro Rosselló 49% to 37%.On
February 19 2007 , Fortuño Burset announced his candidacy forGovernor of Puerto Rico for the 2008 general election. Fortuño Burset faced former 2004 running mate and former Gov. Pedro Juan Rosselló González in an NPP primary onMarch 9 2008 which he won by a 60% to 40% margin.On
May 18 2007 Fortuño announced that former Attorney GeneralPedro Pierluisi would be his running mate and run for Fortuño's current office of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Pierluisi Urrutia was a classmate at Colegio Marista, a fellow member of thePuerto Rico Statehood Students Association and also a fellow cabinet member of Fortuño's during former Governor Rosselló's first term from 1993 to 1996.On
March 9 2008 , Fortuño easily defeated Rosselló, becoming the new president of the NPP and its official candidate for Governor. Fortuño won the candidacy by obtaining nearly 60% of primary votes. Fortuño's running mate and now official candidate forResident Commissioner ,Pedro Pierluisi , also won his primary.References
External links
* [http://www.house.gov/fortuno Luis Fortuño's official site via U.S. House of Representatives]
* [http://www.fortunogobernador.com/ Luis Fortuño's official 2008 campaign site for Governor of Puerto Rico (Spanish)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/luisfortuno2008 Luis Fortuño's MySpace site]
* [http://www.prwow.com/html/Archives/ArcDetail2.php?archID=21997 " Carribbean Business" article on Dec. 2006 Caribbean Business/Gaither/WOSO poll]
* [http://www.elcambioviene.com Independent Spanish website supporting Luis Fortuño andPedro Pierluisi ]
* [http://www.elsorbeto.com A independent website opposing Luis Fortuno with facts of his work in congress]CurrentCongDeleg
State=Puerto Rico
Senators=None (organized unincorporated territory of the United States)
Representatives=Luis Fortuño (Resident Commissioner) (R)
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