Pierluisi, Pedro, 1959-

Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia (born April 26, 1959) is a Puerto Rican attorney, lobbyist, and politician. A member of the New Progressive Party, he served as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2017 and has served as the 14th Governor of Puerto Rico since 2021.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he attended Colegio Marista in Guaynabo before earning a B.A. from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. Pierluisi first practiced law as a private attorney in Washington, D.C. from 1984 until 1990. After six years as a litigator, Pierluisi moved back to Puerto Rico and, in 1993, was appointed the island’s secretary of justice (otherwise known as the attorney general). In his three years as Puerto Rico’s top lawyer, Pierluisi worked to uncover and end corruption in the insular government. He also built a reputation for his efforts to fight violent crime.

In 2008, Pierluisi was nominated for the Office of the Resident Commissioner after the incumbent, Republican Luis G. Fortuño, decided to run for governor of Puerto Rico, and was elected that November. In the House, Pierluisi pushed to strengthen Puerto Rico’s ties to the mainland by including Puerto Rico in federal health care initiatives and by directing government funding to the island. From his post on the Natural Resources Committee, Pierluisi championed the protection of America’s marine ecosystems and introduced legislation to protect El Yunque National Forest near the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico. More than any other issue, Puerto Rico’s status defined Pierluisi’s time in the House. In both the 113th and 114th Congresses, Pierluisi introduced status bills including the Puerto Rico Status Resolution Act (H.R. 2000) in 2013, and, in 2015, the more directly named Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Process Act (H.R. 727).

After two terms in the House (for a total of eight years), Pierluisi did not run for re-election in 2016, opting instead to return home to unsuccessfully campaign for governor of Puerto Rico. In late July 2019 the embattled governor, Ricardo Rosselló, nominated Pierluisi to serve as Secretary of State of Puerto Rico. When Rosselló resigned on August 2, he declared Pierluisi to be governor although Pierluisi had not been confirmed by both the House and the Senate as secretary of state, and Pierluisi affirmed Rosselló's declaration. On August 5, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court ruled that Pierluisi was sworn in on unconstitutional grounds and ordered him to be removed from office on August 7. On August 16, 2020, Pierluisi won the PNP gubernatorial primary race against governor Wanda Vázquez Garced. On November 3, 2020, Pierluisi was elected as the Governor of Puerto Rico. He received approximately 32.9% of all the votes, distributed among 6 candidates that ran for office. He was sworn into office on January 2, 2021.