Luis Vega Ramos (born June 11, 1970) is a Puerto Rican

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

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 was a member of 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 state legislature (United States), territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. ...

from 2006 to 2021.

Early years and studies

Luis Vega Ramos was born on June 11, 1970 to Luis Vega López and Olga E. Ramos Rivera. Vega Ramos studied Political Science and Law at the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

Political career

In the 90s, he served as legislative aide to the Judiciary Commission 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, contro ...

. From 1995 to 2003, Vega Ramos presided PROELA, an organization that promotes the sovereign, non-territorial association between Puerto Rico and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. As such, he lectured several times at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

, and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. He continues to be one of the most visible advocates of the "soberanista" wing of the Popular Democratic Party. In 2001, Vega Ramos was appointed by then-President of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Carlos Vizcarrondo Irizarry, as Director of his Legal and Legislative Counsel's Office. He occupied that position until 2003. Vega Ramos also served as a municipal legislator of San Juan for the Popular Democratic Party and as a legislative counsel to

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 ...

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 Pu ...

. From 2001 on, he has served as part of the multi-ideological Commission on Constitutional development of the "Colegio de Aboados de Puerto Rico". Said commission is a strong proponent of a Special Constitutional Assembly on Political Status as the proper mechanism to exercise Puerto Rico's right to self-determination. Vega Ramos was elected to fill in the vacancy left by Carlos Vizcarrondo when he was appointed judge. He obtained 80% of the votes cast on July 16, 2006, by party delegates, and was sworn in August 21. After winning a slot at the PPD primaries, he was reelected at the 2008 general elections.Elecciones Generales 2008
on CEEPUR He currently serves as Ranking Member of his party in the Commissions of Treasury and Capital City Development. During the 2009–2012 term, Vega Ramos has been an outspoken critic of the Luis Fortuño administration. He advocated for the rights of fired public sector employees, for the Puerto Rico Bar Association (Colegio de Abogados) and the Northeastern Ecological Corridor (Corredor Ecológico del Noreste). He has been very active in fiscal, budgetary and job issues. He has confronted several heads of public agencies regarding their policies and decisions. They include former Secretary of Justice, Antonio Sagardía, Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, Rubén Hernández Gregorat, Secretary of Economic Development, José Pérez Riera and the President of the University of Puerto Rico, Miguel Muñoz. In February 2012 he put up an economic reactivation plan, entitled "I Believe in You" (Yo Creo en Ti). In July 2011, he was elected as an at-large member to the governing board of the Popular Democratic Party. After the final electoral scrutiny of the March 18, 2012 primary, Vega Ramos was certified as the top vote getter for the at-large representative nominations. He got 222,055 votes and was closely followed by fellow "soberanista" Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto with 221,891 votes. Vega Ramos is currently active in his party's electoral campaign.

Writing and professional career

Vega Ramos has also published four books: * ''La Nación en Asociación'' (2000), which was in the top-selling list of that year * ''Baldorioty Ahora'' (2002), a compilation of essays from

Román Baldorioty de Castro Román Baldorioty de Castro (23 February 1822 – 30 September 1889) was Puerto Rican abolitionist and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament, ...

* ''Entre Fraude y Dignidad: Una Elección para la Historia'' (2005), a chronicle of the 2004 general elections * ''Pan, Tierra y Libertad: Historia y Filosofía del Partido Popular Democrático'', an inside-look on the history and philosophy of his party. Vega Ramos has also worked as political commentator in the show ''Reacción Inmediata'', from Radio Isla. He also has worked as an attorney in the private sector.

References

External links

Luis Vega Ramos
on tucamarapr.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Vega Ramos, Luis 1970 births Living people People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico