José Luis Dalmau Santiago (born September 19, 1966) is an attorney and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was the 17th president of the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of 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 the legislative branch of ...

and President of the

Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico The Popular Democratic Party (, PPD) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico, Pu ...

Early years and studies

Dalmau was born on September 19, 1966, in

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, to José Luis Dalmau Rodríguez and Diana Iris Santiago Casanova. He attended elementary through high school at Colegio Católico Notre Dame in Caguas, graduating in 1984. He holds a

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

in Natural Science with a Major in Biology from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

in Río Piedras. In 1997, he received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the Facultad de Derecho Eugenio Maria de Hostos.

Political career

First years in politics

Dalmau began his political career as a teenager when he served as interim president of the Popular Youth in Caguas. After that, he worked for the campaigns of Mayors Angel O. Berríos and then Willie Miranda Marín, as well as the campaigns for the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1994 referendums The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitting ...

. He also served at the Electoral Colleges during various elections,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, and served at the Electoral College during various referendums,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, 1993 and 1994. From 1991 to 1992, Dalmau served as Special Aide to

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

José Ronaldo Jarabo, and then as an aide to Representative Juan Corujo Collazo. He also worked as

legal counsel A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

to the Office of Legal Affairs of the Municipality of Caguas and former deputy director of "Campamento de Orgullo Criollo" that was developed for young school dropouts in Caguas.

Senator: 2000-present

He was elected to the

on November 7, 2000, at the age of 34, representing the District of Humacao along with his running mate, Sixto Hernández. In 2001, he was selected unanimously by his fellow senators to the Senate Majority Leader during his freshman term under the twelfth President of the Senate, Antonio Fas Alzamora. During that term, he also presided the Committee of Rules and Calendar, as well as the Housing Committee and the Select Committee for the Legislative Reform. On November 2, 2004, he was reelected to the Senate of Puerto Rico, representing the District of Humacao despite the

's defeat at the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

elections, and he was elected to the role of being the PPD Minority Leader of the PPD delegation. While a minority in the Senate, presided by the NPP's Kenneth D. McClintock, his delegation represented the executive branch's interests in that legislative body, after PPD gubernatorial candidate

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who 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 ...

narrowly beat former Governor

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, an ...

after a hotly contested post-election court challenge. In 2006, Dalmau's running mate, Hernández, was nominated by Gov. Acevedo Vilá and was easily confirmed by his fellow senators as an appeals judge. Hernández was replaced by

Jorge Suárez Cáceres Jorge Suárez Cáceres (born August 24, 1976, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican politician and senator. He has been a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico since 2006. Early years and studies Jorge Suárez Cáceres was born on August 24 ...

. Although both were defeated at the 2008 general elections, they gained seats as a result of the Minority Law in the

Constitution of Puerto Rico The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico () is the primary organizing law for the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of Puerto Rico in nine art ...

. At the end of his term in 2012, he became the third senator to get elected for 3 consecutive terms as a party floor leader in the Senate, equaling the record with Luis Negrón López and Gilberto Rivera Ortiz. In addition, he became the fourth senator to be elected Floor Leader for 12 years, joining Ruben Berrios of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP). On November 6,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

he was elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico, representing again the District of Humacao, along with his running mate, Jorge Suárez Cáceres. In 2013, he became President Pro Tem of the Senate of Puerto Rico during his fourth term under the fifteenth

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

, Eduardo Bhatia Gautier. During that term, he presided over the Committee of Health and Nutrition, as well as the Select Committee to investigate the implementation of the "Programa Comprensivo de Desarrollo Profesional para Certificación y Re-Certificación por Materia de Enseñanza" (CRECE-21). On November 8,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

he was the only district candidate of the

elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico representing again the District of Humacao. In 2017, he became Minority Whip of the Senate of Puerto Rico. During that term, he presided over the Committee of Veterans Affairs, the first minority legislator appointed to chair a committee, a role previously reserved to majority party legislators. In the 2020 general elections, Dalmau Santiago was reelected as a senator. His fellow senators then elected him to be the 17th president of Puerto Rico's Senate. By 2024, Dalmau will have served for 24 consecutive years in the Senate.

President PPD

On February 23, 2021, Dalmau Santiago was sworn in as president of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD).

Personal life

José Luis Dalmau is married to Margie Rosario Lugo. They have two children together: José Luis and José Juan. Several of Dalmau's relatives are also involved in politics. His cousin

Juan Dalmau Juan Manuel Dalmau Ramírez (born July 23, 1973) is a Puerto Rican politician, attorney and a candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rican Independence Party.Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party (, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ideology are usually called ''independentist ...

(PIP) and is elected in 2016 as senator at-large. Another cousin, Carlos Dalmau, was in charge of Acevedo Vilá's campaign. Another relative, Daly Dalmau, was married to former mayor of Carolina, José Aponte de la Torre. After Aponte's death, he was succeeded by Dalmau's cousin, José Aponte Dalmau. In 2012, his other cousin and brother of the mayor of Carolina, Javier Aponte Dalmau, was elected member of Puerto Rico House of Representative from 38th District, Carolina, Trujillo Alto and Canovanas. Also, Dalmau's brother, Ulises, competed in the 2008 and 2016 PPD Primaries to become representative at-large, but failed to be elected.

References

;General
Puerto Rico SenateJosé Luis Dalmau
on SenadoPR (through

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

) , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalmau, Jose 1966 births 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico Dalmau family Facultad de Derecho Eugenio Maria de Hostos alumni Living people People from Caguas, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Presidents of the Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) Presidents of the Senate of Puerto Rico Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican party leaders Puerto Rican people of Catalan descent University of Puerto Rico alumni