José Luis Dalmau Santiago (born September 19, 1966) is an
attorney and
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 ...
. He is the current President 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 t ...
and President of the
Popular Democratic Party.
Early years and studies
José Luis Dalmau Santiago was born on September 19, 1966 in
Caguas
Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founde ...
,
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 ...
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 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 Natural Science with a Major in Biology 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 Río Piedras. In 1997, he received his
Juris Doctor 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
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
and
1994 referendums
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson M ...
. He also served at the Electoral Colleges during various elections,
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
,
1992 and
1996, and served at the Electoral College during various referendums,
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
, 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 Hungerf ...
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 Practice of law, practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different Jurisdiction, legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney at law, attorney, barrister, canonist, canon l ...
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
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 t ...
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
Antonio "Tony" J. Fas Alzamora (born November 16, 1948) is a Puerto Rican politician and Senator. As of 31 December 2011, he was the longest-serving legislator in the history of Puerto Rico, having served in ten Legislative Assemblies, one Ho ...
. 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
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party ( es, Partido Popular Democrático, 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 ...
's defeat at the
2004 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. 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 ...
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, a ...
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. 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 ( es, Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is the controlling government document of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government a ...
. 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
Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob.
Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...
of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP).
On November 6,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
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,
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
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
he was the only district candidate of the
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party ( es, Partido Popular Democrático, 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 ...
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 former candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rican Independence Party.[Puerto Rican Independence Party
The Puerto Rican Independence Party ( es, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, 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 ...]
(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
José Ernesto Aponte de la Torre (December 5, 1941 – May 5, 2007) was a Puerto Rican politician, and was the mayor of Carolina, Puerto Rico for 22 years.
Biography
Aponte de la Torre was born and raised in Cayey, Puerto Rico in 1941. He was ...
. After Aponte's death, he was succeeded by Dalmau's cousin,
José Aponte Dalmau
José Carlos Aponte Dalmau (born March 2, 1965) is a Puerto Rican politician and current mayor of Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Aponte is the son of longtime mayor of Carolina, José Aponte de la Torre and Carmen Idalia "Daly" Dalmau. He completed his ...
. In 2012, his other cousin and brother of the Mayor of Carolina,
Javier Aponte Dalmau
Javier Aponte Dalmau is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He was elected to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives in 2012 to represent District 38. Has a bachelor's degree in business administrati ...
, was elected member of
Puerto Rico House of Representative from
38th District, Carolina,
Trujillo Alto
Trujillo Alto (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Northern Coastal Plain, on the boundary between the karst zone and Sierra de Luquillo, north of Caguas, and Gurabo; southeast of San Juan, and west of Carolina. Truji ...
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 Dalmauon SenadoPR (through
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalmau, Jose
1966 births
21st-century Puerto Rican politicians
Living people
Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico
People from Caguas, Puerto Rico
Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians
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