José Emilio González Velázquez is a Puerto Rican politician and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. He has been a member of the

Senate of Puerto Rico 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 th ...

since 2004.

Early years and studies

José Emilio González graduated from 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 ...

in 1974 with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Political Science. He continued his studies at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law is the law school of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puer ...

where he obtained his

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 ...

in 1977.

Professional career

After passing the

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associa ...

, González was named

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of the Arecibo region. In 1979, he was promoted to D.A. from the Arecibo Supreme Court, where he worked until 1988. That year, he started his own private practice specializing in criminal law.

Political career

In 2004, González was elected to the

for the District of Arecibo at the 2004 general elections. He was the candidate with most votes for the position in that district. During that first term, he presided the Ethics Commission of the Senate, as well as the Jury Commission. At the 2008 PNP primary, González won a slot in the ballot of the party and he was reelected at the 2008 general elections. During that second term, González presided the Commission of Criminal Justice. He also served as Secretary of the Natural and Environmental Resources Commission, and was a member of the Health and Government Commissions. In 2012, González lost his slot for reelection at the PNP primaries, preventing him of running again at the general elections that year.

Return to private life

In December 2012, Governor of Puerto Rico

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 ...

appointed González, among others, to become a Superior Judge when he finishes his term as Senator in January 2013. His appointment was approved by 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 ...

References

External links

Hon. José Emilio González Velázquez
on SenadoPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Velazquez, Jose Emilio Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Living people New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni People from Ciales, Puerto Rico Year of birth missing (living people)