Elmer L. Román is a former Puerto Rican government official who served as the 26th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from December 2019 till August 2020, which included the role of Lieutenant Governor, after being designated by Governor

Wanda Vázquez Garced Wanda Emilia Vázquez Garced (born July 9, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 2019 to 2021. Prior to her tenure as governor, she served as the 19th secretary of Justice, from 2017 to 20 ...

. He was previously appointed as the 2nd Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety on April 9, 2019, succeeding

Héctor Pesquera Héctor Pesquera is a former Superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police and the Puerto Rico Commissioner of Safety and Public Protection. Pesquera served for 27 years in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) until his retirement in 2003. He then ...

. On August 20, 2020, Román resigned to the post of Secretary of State, allegedly to return to his former workplace,

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

, where he worked as Director of the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) and team leader for Mission Integration in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Román was born in

Yauco, Puerto Rico Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grande ...

. He completed a bachelor's in mechanical engineering at

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a public land-grant university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM ...

and a master's in systems engineering at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. He completed executive development courses at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

and is currently completing a doctor of administration at

Colorado Technical University Colorado Technical University (CTU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university with its main campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The university is owned by Perdoceo Education Corporati ...

Military career

Román became a member of the Civil Air Patrol where he earned the General Carl A Spaatz Award, the highest award in the Civil Air Patrol cadet program. He went on to serve in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

as a Platoon Sergeant, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. Other military positions he held include one with the Office of Naval Research as Regional Director, at the United States Embassy in Santiago, Chile. Director, Joint Capability Technology Demonstration and Commanding Officer, NR NAVSEA Supervisor of Salvage and Diving Unit in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

. Among his military awards are the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal He is currently a Captain in the US Navy Reserve.

References

21st-century American naval officers Living people Members of the 17th Cabinet of Puerto Rico People from Yauco, Puerto Rico People of the Civil Air Patrol Puerto Rican military officers Puerto Rican United States Marines Puerto Rican United States Navy personnel Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Secretaries of State of Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez people University of Puerto Rico alumni United States Marines United States Navy officers United States Navy reservists United States Marine Corps reservists Virginia Tech alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{PuertoRico-politician-stub