Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico


The President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico —commonly called the Speaker of the House — is the highest-ranking officer and the presiding officer of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. The Speaker has voting powers as it is elected amongst the own members of the House as established by Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. The Constitution, however, does not establish its functions and since the House is the only body authorized by the Constitution to regulate its own internal affairs, the functions of the Speaker vary from session to session—save being called "Speaker" as the Constitution establishes. The Speaker is typically elected during the House inaugural session.
When absent, the Speaker is substituted by the Speaker pro tempore. Its counterpart in the Senate is the President of the Senate.
The current Speaker is Carlos Johnny Méndez, representative at-large from the New Progressive Party.

Background

The Speaker traces its history back to more than years ago when the Foraker Act formally established the post on April 12, 1900. Several laws eventually superseded said act, and the post was eventually established by the Constitution of Puerto Rico, specifically Article III, which establishes that, "the House of Representatives a Speaker from among members." The Constitution, however, does not establish what a "Speaker" is nor what its function should be. Internal rules adopted by the House through a simple resolution establish its definition, functions, responsibilities, and legal scope.

Functions

Typically the Speaker is responsible for the observance and compliance of the House internal rules. He also typically:

Speakers

#PortraitNameTook officeLeft officePartySpeaker pro tempore
1Manuel F. Rossy CalderónDecember 3, 1900December 31, 1904Republican
2Rosendo Matienzo CintrónJanuary 10, 1905December 31, 1906Union
3Francisco P. Acuña y PaniaguaJanuary 14, 1907March 6, 1907Union
4José de Diego MartínezMarch 6, 1907July 16, 1918UnionJuan Bernardo Huyke
5Juan Bernardo HuykeNovember 26, 1918December 31, 1920UnionMiguel Guerra Mondragón
6Cayetano Coll y CuchíFebruary 14, 1921February 11, 1923UnionAlfonso Lastra Chárriez
7Miguel Guerra MondragrónFebruary 12, 1923December 31, 1924UnionAlfonso Lastra Chárriez
8José Tous SotoFebruary 9, 1925February 18, 1930RepublicanMiguel Guerra Modragón
1925–1929
Benigno Fernández García
1929–1930
9Manuel F. Rossy CalderónFebruary 20, 1930August 6, 1932RepublicanEnrique Landrón Otero
1930
Rafael Alonso Torres
1930–1931
10Rafael Alonso TorresOctober 18, 1932December 31, 1932SocialistJorge Romaní
11Miguel A. García MéndezFebruary 13, 1933December 31, 1940RepublicanRafael Alonso Torres
12Samuel R. Quiñones QuiñonesFebruary 12, 1941March 5, 1943PPDLuis Sánchez Frasqueri
13Rafael Arrillaga TorrensMarch 5, 1943February 24, 1944SocialistJulio Reguero González
14Rafael Rodríguez PachecoFebruary 24, 1944December 31, 1944RepublicanJulio Reguero González
15María L. Gómez GarrigaJanuary 11, 1945February 12, 1945PPDGuillermo Alicea Campos
16Francisco M. Susoni AbreuFebruary 12, 1945June 5, 1948PPDErnesto Ramos Antonini
17Ernesto Ramos AntoniniJune 22, 1948January 9, 1963PPDBenjamín Ortiz Ortiz
1949–1952
María L. Gómez Garriga
1953–1956
Jorge Font Saldaña
1957–1962
18Santiago Polanco AbreuJanuary 14, 1963December 31, 1964PPDBenjamín Ortiz Ortiz
19Arcilio Alvarado AlvaradoJanuary 11, 1965December 31, 1968PPDAguedo Mojica
20Angel Viera MartínezJanuary 13, 1969December 31, 1972PNPRubén Otero Bosco
1969–1970
José E. Salichs Lope de Haro
1970–1972
21Luis E. Ramos YordánJanuary 8, 1973December 31, 1976PPDSevero Colberg Ramírez
22Angel Viera MartínezJanuary 10, 1977January 28, 1982PNPJosé N. Granados Navedos
1977 – 1978
José E. Salichs Lope de Haro
1978 – December 31, 1980
Severo Colberg Ramírez
1981 – 1982
23Severo Colberg RamírezJanuary 28, 1982December 31, 1984PPDPresby Santiago García
24José R. Jarabo AlvarezJanuary 14, 1985December 31, 1992PPDSamuel Ramírez Torres
25Zaida R. Hernández TorresJanuary 11, 1993December 31, 1996PNPEdison Misla Aldarondo
26Edison Misla AldarondoJanuary 13, 1997December 31, 2000PNPJosé N. Granados Navedos
January 1997 – June 30, 1999
Edwin Mundo Ríos
June 30, 1999 – December 31, 2000
27Carlos Vizcarrondo IrizarryJanuary 8, 2001December 31, 2004PPDFerdinand Pérez Román
28José F. Aponte HernándezJanuary 10, 2005December 31, 2008PNPEpifanio Jiménez
29Jenniffer A. González ColónJanuary 12, 2009January 1, 2013PNPGabriel Rodríguez Aguiló
30Jaime PerellóJanuary 14, 2013August 29, 2016PPDRoberto Rivera
31Carlos Johnny MéndezJanuary 9, 2017PresentPNPJosé E. Torres Zamora

Speakers ''pro tempore''

The Vice President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico is the second highest-ranking officer of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. The Speaker pro tempore substitutes the Speaker of the House in his absence. The Speaker pro tempore has a counterpart in the Senate by the President pro tempore of the Senate.