Diego Tenorio Benavente (born April 21, 1959) is a Northern Mariana Islander politician who served as the sixth

lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has a self-governing government consisting of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. Incumbent Governor Eloy S. Inos died on ...

from January 14, 2002 to January 9, 2006, under former Governor

Juan Babauta Juan Nekai Babauta (born September 7, 1953) is a Northern Mariana Islander politician who served as the sixth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 14, 2002 to January 9, 2006. Biography Early life and education Juan Babauta was ...

Biography

Benavente first ran for election in 1987, when he narrowly lost his bid for election to the

Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

in Precinct II by just six votes. However, Benavente was elected to the House in his second campaign in 1989. He served in the House for six consecutive terms, including three terms as the

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 ...

. He left the House in 2000 to run for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 2001. Benavente was elected

Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has a self-governing government consisting of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. Incumbent Governor Eloy S. Inos died on ...

as the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

in the 2001 gubernatorial election. He served in office from 2002 to 2006. Babauta and Benavente lost their bid for re-election in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

to Covenant Party candidate

Benigno Fitial Benigno Repeki Fitial (born November 27, 1945) is a Northern Marianan politician who served was the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history, Fitial was elected on November 6, 2005, assum ...

and his running mate,

Timothy Villagomez Timothy Pangelinan Villagomez (born September 10, 1962, Saipan) is a Northern Marianan politician who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 9, 2006 until his resignation on April 24, 2009, under Gov ...

. Benavente announced his candidacy for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in the 2009 election on December 11, 2008. However, Benavente dropped out of the race in February 2009 leaving two candidates -

Heinz Hofschneider Heinz Sablan Hofschneider (born July 1, 1957) is a politician from the Northern Mariana Islands. Hofschneider served as the Speaker of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives from 2002 to 2004 and is a four-time candidate for Governor ...

and

- in the race for the Republican nomination. Benavente was again elected to the CNMI House of Representatives in 2007. He is currently serves as the Minority Leader of the

as of April 2011.

References

1959 births Lieutenant Governors of the Northern Mariana Islands Living people Republican Party (Northern Mariana Islands) politicians Speakers of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives {{NorthernMarianas-politician-stub