Margarita Nolasco Santiago is a Puerto Rican politician,

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 ...

, and former Mayor of

Coamo Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Coamo ...

. She 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

Margarita Nolasco obtained her

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 ...

from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Docto ...

, and her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

, both in Education with a Major in Mathematics. She then completed her

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in Education with a Major in Curriculum from 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 ...

Professional career

After receiving her bachelor's degree, Nolasco worked for the

Puerto Rico Department of Education The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of the statewide public education system in the United States, with (Hawaii being the other). The PRDOE is the state education agency in charge of managing public schools in Puerto Rico as ...

in Barranquitas High School. After finishing her master's degree, she worked as a mathematics teacher at the

in Barranquitas. Two years later, she was appointed as Coordinator of Academic Affairs of the same institution. After some time, she transferred to the Interamerican University of San Germán where she worked as Director of the General Education Program. She then transferred to the Ponce Campus where she worked as Dean of Academic Affairs. She is co-author of two books in mathematics with

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...

Political career

Nolasco began her political career in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, when she was elected as Mayor of

. She ran again in the

2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...

, but lost to the candidate of the Popular Democratic Party. In

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 6 ...

, she was elected to the

for the District of Guayama. She became the Majority Whip of her party, and eventually the Majority Speaker. During that term, she presided the Commission of Superior Education, among others. For the 2008 general elections, Nolasco ran for Senator at-large after winning a slot at the PNP primaries. She was elected and appointed as

President pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

by President

Thomas Rivera Schatz Thomas Rivera Schatz (born June 10, 1966) is a Puerto Rican politician, legal advisor, attorney, and former prosecutor, who was the fourteenth and sixteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He is affiliated with New Progressive Party of ...

.16ta Asamblea Legislativa de Puerto Rico
on SenadoPR

Personal life

Nolasco has a son: Angel Miguel Cruz Nolasco, born in 1979. She also has three grandchildren: Clarymar, Angélica Cristina, and Angel Miguel.

References

External links

Hon. Margarita Nolasco
on SenadoPR {{DEFAULTSORT:Nolasco Santiago, Margarita Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Living people People from Coamo, Puerto Rico Mayors of places in Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Puerto Rico Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Puerto Rican women in politics State University of New York alumni 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians Women mayors of places in Puerto Rico Year of birth missing (living people)