Carlos J. "Johnny" Méndez Núñez is a politician from

Fajardo, Puerto Rico Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...

. He represents District 36 in the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Sen ...

Elecciones Generales 2008: Representante Distrito 36
on CEEPUR and assumed the role of

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

upon the resignation of

Rolando Crespo Rolando Crespo Arroyo (born November 9, 1974) is a former Representative of Puerto Rico and former Majority Leader of the New Progressive Party within the Puerto Rico House of Representatives who resigned in February 2011 after testing positive fo ...

as a member of the House in February, 2011.Confirman a Johnny Méndez como portavoz de la Cámara
on '' Primera Hora'' (February 26, 2011) Méndez is a supporter of statehood for

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 ...

and is affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP). Méndez, who studied law and resides in

, simultaneously chairs the Government Committee of the House. He is a member of the

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

and the

National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) is the non-partisan, 501(C)(3) organization founded in 1989 by then Colorado State Senator, Larry Trujillo. NHCSL today represents over 425 elected Hispanic State legislators throughout ...

Early life and education

Carlos Johnny Méndez Nuñez was born and raised in

Fajardo Fajardo (, ) is a town and municipality -Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. It is ...

. In 1978 he graduated with honors from the Santiago Veve Calzada High School. After graduating, Méndez was admitted to the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras where he completed 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 ...

with a major in Labor Relations and a minor in Business Administration. He graduated in 1982, and continued studies in Law at the

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law The Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Faculty of Law ( es, links=no, Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico) is the school of law of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, a private co-educational corpor ...

. He received his Juris doctor in 1986.

Public service

Méndez began working in 1986 for the Municipality of San Juan, specifically for the Training and Employment Program, where he was in charge of writing service contracts, as well as the supervision of them. In 1987, he went to work for the Legal Division of the Medical Services Administration of Puerto Rico. In 1989, Méndez was recruited by his sister's iana Méndezhusband, the Mayor of

, Aníbal Meléndez Rivera, to work as Director of the Office of Federal Affairs. After that, he occupied several positions within the City Administration. Served as the Executive director of the Northeast Consortium (Consorcio Del Noreste) from 1997 to 2004.

Political career

Méndez was first elected to the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico at the 2004 general election. During his first term, he served as President of the Commission of Employment and Labor Relations. He also served as Vicepresident of the Commissions of Law, Municipal Affairs, and others. After being reelected in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Méndez was appointed as President of the Government Commission. On February 25, 2011, he was elected by his colleagues as Majority Leader, filling the vacancy left by

. Méndez was reelected for a third term at the 2012 general election. Méndez was reelected for a fourth term at the 2016 general election and served as the 31st Speaker of the House. In 2020 he was elected to a fifth term in the House, although his party lost their majority and he relinquished the Speakership. He currently serves as Minority Leader of the House.

References

External links

Johnny Méndez Official biography
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Carlos Johnny Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Living people New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from Fajardo, Puerto Rico Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Speakers of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni Year of birth missing (living people)