Héctor Luis Acevedo Pérez (born November 8, 1947) is a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

. He is the son of Héctor N. Acevedo and Toñita Pérez, both public servants. Acevedo has been married to Carmen Roca Saavedra since 1972, with whom he has three children.

Biography

Héctor Luis studied in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

Elementary School and High School but completed High School in Spain in the America School of Madrid. There he won the Director's Cup and the medal in history. He completed a bachelor's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the University of Puerto Rico with high honors. He obtained his degree in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

from the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce in 1972, where he also graduated with honors. Acevedo then entered the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

as a commissioned officer after completing the ROTC program. As part of his military functions he was an instructor in the

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. Also commanded the 429 Personnel Company. While in university he was elected president of the student council, president of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and in 1967, Lodge Chief of Yokahu Lodge of the

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Go ...

of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

, Puerto Rico Council; was also recognized with the Vigil Honor. In 1976, he was appointed Electoral Commissioner when he was only twenty-eight years old, making him the youngest person to hold that position. He remained as Electoral Commissioner until 1984. In 1978, he completed the Lawyer's Education Program at the Harvard Law School. That same year he began working as an assistant to then-

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 ...

. In 1985 he was appointed Secretary of State. In 1988, he was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of San Juan in a close race. He was reelected in 1992 by a much larger margin. In 1994, he was elected president of the Popular Democratic Party, and in 1996 he ran unsuccessfully for governor of Puerto Rico, losing by a 51% to 45% margin to Pedro Rosselló. Since then he has dedicated his time to teaching full time at the

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has c ...

. He is also a part-time professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law. Considered Gov.

Jesús T. Piñero Jesús T. Piñero Jiménez (April 16, 1897 – November 19, 1952) was the first and only native Puerto Rican to be appointed governor of Puerto Rico by the Government of the United States. Early years Jesús Toribio Piñero Jiménez was born i ...

's principal biographer, he is also contributing to the biography of former Puerto Rico Senate Vice President Luis Negrón López, the PDP's 1968 gubernatorial candidate. He was vice president of the Puerto Rico Council of the

. In 2003 and in 2013, he was appointed President of the Commission for Electoral Finance Reform. Acevedo is known to be an expert in Puerto Rican

electoral law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management b ...

. Currently he lives in Rio Piedras, where he occasionally plays basketball with his youngest son.

Publications

Héctor Luis Acevedo has published various articles in law journals and newspapers. In 1996, he published his book '' Will Opens Paths'' (''"La Voluntad Abre Caminos"''), and in 1997 '' Messages from the Mayor's Office'' (''"Mensajes Desde la Alcaldia"''). He has edited two books: ''La Generacion del 40 y la Convencion Constituyente'' and ''Los Administradores en la Modernizacion de Puerto Rico''. He is also the editor of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico-sponsored biography on Gov. Jesús T. Piñero. He also edited the biography of Sen. Luis Negrón López, published by the Interamerican University Press in September, 2007. Many of these books have been made available for free online on the

's website on th
libros para todos
(books for everybody) section.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Acevedo, Hector Luis 1947 births Living people Mayors of San Juan, Puerto Rico People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Puerto Rican military officers Secretaries of State of Puerto Rico United States Army officers United States Army reservists University of Puerto Rico alumni Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain