The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Jefe del Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the presiding officer of the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme c ...

. The post of Chief Justice was created by Article V of the

Constitution of Puerto Rico The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is the controlling government document of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government a ...

. The constitution also established in several articles that the Chief Justice must: * direct the administration of the courts, * appoint an administrative director, * chairman the board which revises Puerto Rico's senatorial and representative districts, and * preside at the impeachment trial of the

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

. The Chief Justice is also typically the judge that swears in the governor upon his inaugural term.

Chief Justices

style="margin: 0 auto" ! scope=col style="text-align: left" , # ! scope=col style="text-align: left" , Portrait ! scope=col style="text-align: left" , Name ! scope=col style="text-align: left" , Took office ! scope=col style="text-align: left" , Left office ! scope=col style="text-align: left" , Appointed by ! scope=col style="text-align: left" , Other posts held , - ! scope=row , 1 , José Severo Quiñones (cropped)

José Severo Quiñones José Severo Quiñones Caro (November 6, 1838 – November 6, 1909) was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he began his formal studies in Puerto Rico before continuing the study of law ...

, 1900 , 1909 ,

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

, , - ! scope=row , 2 , , José Hernández Santiago , 1909 , 1922 ,

William H. Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, , - ! scope=row , 3 , , Emilio del Toro Cuebas , 1922 , 1943 ,

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

, *

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico Associate may refer to: Academics * Associate degree, a two-year educational degree in the United States, and some areas of Canada * Associate professor, an academic rank at a college or university * Technical associate or Senmonshi, a Japa ...

, - ! scope=row , 4 , Martín Travieso puerto rico

Martín Travieso Nieva Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) Martin County is the name of six counties in the United States: * Martin County, Florida * Martin County, Indiana * Martin County, Kentucky * Martin C ...

, 1944 , 1948 ,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, * Senator of Puerto Rico *

, - ! scope=row , 5 , ,

Angel de Jesús Sánchez Angel de Jesús Sánchez (August 9, 1891 in Ciales, Puerto Rico – April 30, 1951) was a Puerto Rican jurist who served as the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1948 till 1951. After graduating from the Central High S ...

, 1948 , 1951 ,

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 6 , ,

Roberto Todd Borrás The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, 1951 , 1952 ,

, * Deputy Solicitor General * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 7 , , A. Cecil Snyder , 1953 , 1957 ,

Luis Muñoz Marín José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth." In 1948 he ...

, *

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

* Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 8 , ,

Jaime Sifre Dávila Jaime Sifre Dávila (November 24, 1887 – October 6, 1960) was an attorney and judge in Puerto Rico, ultimately serving as an associate justice and briefly as the eighth chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Sifre was born to Ja ...

, 1957 , 1957 ,

, * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 9 , ,

Luis Negrón Fernández Luis Felipe Negrón Fernández (April 29, 1910 - December 1, 1986) was a Puerto Rican jurist who served as an asssociate justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and later as the ninth chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1971 ...

, 1957 , 1972 ,

, * Solicitor General * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 10 , ,

Pedro Pérez Pimentel Pedro Pérez Pimentel (April 11, 1904, in Vieques, Puerto Rico – August 23, 1990) served as a served as an associate justice for the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and the tenth chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1972 until 1974. ...

, 1973 , 1974 ,

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

, * District Judge * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 11 , ,

José Trías Monge José Trías Monge (May 5, 1920 – June 24, 2003) was a lawyer and judge in Puerto Rico. He served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1974 to 1985. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he was appointed Chief Justice in 1 ...

, 1974 , 1985 ,

, * Secretary of Justice , - ! scope=row , 12 , , Víctor Pons Núñez , 1985 , 1992 ,

, * Secretary of State , - ! scope=row , 13 , , José Andréu García , 1992 , 2003 ,

, * District Attorney * Superior Court Judge * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 14 , , Miriam Naveira Merly , 2003 , 2004 ,

Sila María Calderón Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was the governor of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first woman elected to that office. Prior to her term as gov ...

, * Solicitor General * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 15 , , Federico Hernández Denton , 2004 , 2014 ,

, * Secretary of Consumer Affairs * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 16 , ,

Liana Fiol Matta Liana Fiol Matta (born October 20, 1946) is a Puerto Rican jurist, who served as the 16th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Fiol was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and is the second woman in Puerto Rican history to serve in the ...

, 2014 , 2016 ,

Alejandro García Padilla Alejandro Javier García Padilla (; born August 3, 1971) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this position, García Padilla held various roles in the political la ...

, * Administrator,

Puerto Rico Court of Appeals Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

* Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , - ! scope=row , 17 , Hon-Maite-Oronoz-Rodriguez

Maite Oronoz Rodríguez Maite Oronoz Rodríguez (born 1976) is a Puerto Rican jurist and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. Oronoz Rodríguez is Puerto Rico's first openly gay chief justice. Early years and education Oronoz Rodríguez earned her bac ...

, 2016 , present ,

, * Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico , -

References

{{Government of Puerto Rico