Brenda López de Arrarás (born April 25, 1971) is a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. She was a member of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Representatives from 2009 until 2021, and is affiliated to the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and served as the party's vice president. She was the first woman, who reached that position, unanimously elected.

Early years and studies

Brenda López was born on April 25, 1971, in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

, but was raised in

Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...

. Her father was a former member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of 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 Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

for

District 22 District 22 may refer to: * District 22 (Chile) * District 22 (Tehran) * Texas Senate, District 22 * Florida's 22nd congressional district * Texas's 22nd congressional district * New York's 22nd congressional district * California's 22nd congress ...

. She completed her elementary and high school studies in Utuado. López then completed a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Political Science from the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

graduating in 1993. After completing her bachelor's degree school, López de Arrarás entered 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 ...

School of Law in Ponce, Puerto Rico and reached Juris Doctor degree in 1996.

Political life

In 2007, López decided to run for office as a Representative. At the PPD primaries next year, she was the third candidate with most votes for Representative At-large. She was then elected at the 2008 general elections. She served as the party's Ranking Minority member in the Commissions of Education, Community Organizations, Agriculture, and others. López was re-elected to a second term on the 2012 General Elections and a third term in the 2016 General Election. She served as the Chairwoman of the Commissions on Women Issues & Equality and Education, Arts & Culture from 2013 to 2016.

Personal life

Brenda López is married to fellow politician

José Enrique Arrarás José Enrique Arrarás Mir (born 25 September 1937) is a Puerto Rican politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. Early life Arrarás was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. He obtained his primary and secondary educ ...

. They have two children together named Enrique Antonio Arraras and Isabel Celste Arraras .María Celeste Arrarás su madrastra es menor que ella
on '' Primera Hora''; Berríos, Luis Ernesto (December 4, 2008)

References

External links

Brenda López de Arrarás
on CamaraDeRepresentantes.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez de Arraras, Brenda 1971 births 21st-century American women politicians Living people People from Arecibo, Puerto Rico People from Utuado, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican women in politics University of Puerto Rico alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico