Fernando J. Bonilla Ortiz (born 1962) is a Puerto Rican political figure who served as the 21st Secretary of State of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. Bonilla also served as the Executive Director of the

Puerto Rico Ports Authority The Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA) ( es, Autoridad de los Puertos; AP) is a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico charged with developing, operating, and overseeing all seaports and airports in Puerto Rico. The Authority is ascribed to ...

. As Secretary of State, Bonilla was constitutionally empowered to assume the seat of

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 ...

in case that the incumbent was incapable to do so. After the federal indictment of incumbent Governor

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...

, the possibility existed that Acevedo might resign his position, thereby elevating Bonilla to the seat of governor.

Early life and education

Bonilla received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Puerto Rico School of Law The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...

and an

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from

Tulane University School of Law Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. In addition to the usual common ...

. He served as

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Associate Justice 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 cou ...

Miriam Naveira Miriam Naveira de Merly (July 28, 1934 – April 15, 2018) was a Puerto Rican jurist who served in the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1985 to 2004. Naveira was the first woman to serve on the court as well as the first female Chief Justice ( ...

from 1985–1987. Bonilla worked primarily in the private sector, specializing in

maritime law Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between priva ...

Public service career

Bonilla was appointed Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority in early 2005 by Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. After

Marisara Pont Marchese Marisara Pont Marchese (born October 29, 1941) served as the 20th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, as well as Acting Governor in the absence of Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and the only one whose recess term ended when denied legislative confi ...

's confirmation was rejected by the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral state legislature (United States), territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. ...

for the post of Secretary of State, Governor Acevedo turned to Bonilla and nominated him in the summer of 2005 for the position. He was confirmed by both houses of the

Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico ( es, Asamblea Legislativa de Puerto Rico) is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bic ...

and effectively began serving in both posts. In Puerto Rico, the Secretary of State has the role, but not the official title, of

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, in addition to heading the State Department. However, the Constitution provides that whenever the Governor is unable to carry out his duties, dies, is impeached or resigns, the Secretary of State shall succeed in the post. If Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá would have resigned after the federal indictment of March 27, 2008, Bonilla would have assumed the governorship. On January 2, 2009, after fulfilling the traditional role of serving as the initial Master of Ceremony of incoming Governor

Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013. Fortuño served as the first secretary of econom ...

's Inaugural Ceremonies, he introduced and turned over that role to his successor, former

Puerto Rico Senate The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control t ...

President

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...

, who, coincidentally, was also a fellow

graduate.

References

External links

Biography in Spanish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonilla, Fernando Living people Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Secretaries of State of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Tulane University Law School alumni 1962 births University of Puerto Rico alumni