The government of

Wanda Vázquez Garced Wanda Emilia Vázquez Garced (born July 9, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the 188th Governor of Puerto Rico from 2019 to 2021. Prior to her tenure as governor, she served as the 19th Secretary of Justice from 2 ...

was formed the week following the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares as a result of the massive protests resulting from the

Telegramgate Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate or RickyLeaks, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application ...

scandal, and a

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

decision that vacated the office from an invalid occupant.

Background

While the Secretary of State, Luis G. Rivera Marín, would have been the successor, his involvement in the scandal forced his resignation earlier in July 2019. Rosselló Nevares attempted to name a successor in Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia by nominating him for the Secretary of State, but his confirmation was stalled in the

18th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors and no smaller number has ...

. The situation led to confusion as Rosselló resigned without a confirmed Secretary of State, who at the same time swore in on his own ceremony, becoming ''de facto'' governor. After a week, the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico () is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme courts of the states of the United State ...

decided in that the clear successor was the

Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalua ...

, annulled any recognition or vestiges of legitimacy in the week-long Pierluisi government. Pierluisi vacated the Palace of Santa Catalina at noon of 7 August 2019, and

was sworn that day at 5pm as the 13th Constitutional Governor of Puerto Rico. Her New Progressive Party (PNP) had majorities on both chambers of the

and she inherited several cabinet members from the previous government.

Party breakdown

Party breakdown of cabinet members, not including the governor: The cabinet was composed of members of the PNP and two independents or technical positions (or people whose membership in a party was not clearly ascertained from any available media).

Members of the Cabinet

The Puerto Rican Cabinet is led by the Governor, along with, starting in 1986., the Secretary of Governance. The Cabinet is composed of all members of the Constitutional Council of Secretaries (), who are the heads of the executive departments, along with other Cabinet-level officers who report directly to the

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

or to the Secretary of Governance, but who are not heads nor members of an executive office. All the Cabinet-level officers are at the same bureaucratic level as of the Secretaries

Notes

References

{{Governments of Puerto Rico Government of Puerto Rico Governors of Puerto Rico Members of the Cabinet of Puerto Rico by session Cabinet of Puerto Rico