Sila María Calderón
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Sila Calderón Serra
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| In office January 2, 2001 – January 2, 2005 |
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| Lieutenant | Secretaries of State Ferdinand Mercado, José M. Izquierdo |
| Preceded by | Pedro Rosselló González |
| Succeeded by | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
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Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico
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| In office January 2, 1997 – January 2, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Hector Luis Acevedo |
| Succeeded by | Jorge Santini |
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| Born | September 23, 1942 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Popular Democratic Party Democratic Party |
| Profession | Businesswoman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) was the seventh Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first and to date only woman elected to that office. Prior to being Governor, Calderón held various positions in the Government of Puerto Rico, including Secretary of State and Chief of Staff. She was also Mayor of San Juan, the Capital of Puerto Rico from 1997-2001.
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[edit] Early life and education
Sila grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico and attended high school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Santurce. In 1964 she graduated with honors from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. She later attended the Graduate School of Public Administration at the University of Puerto Rico.
[edit] Career
Her career began in 1973 when she was named Executive Aide to the Labor Secretary and later Special Aide for Economic Development to then Governor, Rafael Hernández Colón. From 1975 to 1984, she was product manager at Citibank, N.A. in San Juan. At the time, Citibank in San Juan was one of John Reed’s experimental marketing centers. As part of her business development responsibilities, Mrs. Calderón designed and marketed several new consumer products which significantly increased the earnings of the Retail Division of the Bank. In 1978, she became president of Commonwealth Investment Company, a family real estate concern that owned and managed industrial buildings. Calderón became the first woman Chief of Staff in Puerto Rico in 1985. Later, she served as Secretary of State, a position which includes the responsibilities of a Lieutenant Governor.
She resigned in 1989 and returned to her business endeavors, and community work, most notably the innovative Peninsula de Cantera Project, a public private initiative which fostered grass roots redevelopment of one of the most poverty stricken sectors of San Juan, located only steps away from the financial sector of the city. Cantera has since become a model for community development not only for Puerto Rico, but internationally. During those years, she was appointed Chair of the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation. At the time, she also served on the boards of major local corporations such as Banco Popular and Pueblo International, as well as on the board of the Government Development Bank and the Puerto Rico Economic Development Council.
[edit] Mayor of San Juan
Sila M. Calderón returned to public life in 1995, running in the 1995 Popular Democratic Party primary for Mayor of San Juan, winning handily over her two opponents by a huge margin, and then being elected Mayor of the city of San Juan in 1996, becoming the second woman in the city's history to serve in that office and the first woman elected to the position. As mayor, she undertook one of the largest public works program in the city to date, sponsoring various urban redevelopment projects to revitalize Old San Juan, Condado, Rio Piedras, Santurce, and other deteriorated sections of the city. She also initiated the Special Communities Program to assist poor communities’ empowerment and economic development.
During her time as mayor of San Juan, she received numerous distinctions and was granted several high profile audiences, including one with then-president Bill Clinton.
In 2000 she led the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) during a heated and close campaign for Governor against Carlos Pesquera (PNP) and Ruben Berrios (PIP). With her victory, she became the first elected female governor in the history of Puerto Rico.
[edit] Governor
As Governor, 2001-05, Calderón took forceful action to eliminate corruption and restore confidence in the government; strengthen public finances and retain credit quality; spurred economic growth and job creation; and gave particular attention to the most disadvantaged sectors. Governor Calderón also fostered peace with vigorous efforts, together with those of the population, to end the U.S. Navy bombing exercises on the offshore island of Vieques. In 2003, Governor Calderón announced her determination to fulfill the commitments of her platform and her decision not to seek re-election in 2004.
Although a firm believer in the Commonwealth political status of the island, an attempt to discuss mechanisms to resolve the status dispute that faces Puerto Rico among the three major political parties was unsuccessful.
On May 26, 2004, Calderón had to deal with a man who entered La Fortaleza, governor's mansion, with a knife and took a receptionist hostage, demanding to speak directly with Calderón. After Calderón negotiated with the hostage taker, the man dropped the knife and surrendered to the police.
Calderón's daughters, Sila Mari and María Elena González, both attorneys, served as "First Ladies" of the Commonwealth. Sila Mari was elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico in November 2004, just as her mother completed her term of office as Governor. She also has a son, Francisco González, who is an investment banker in New York City.
[edit] Honors and Awards
During her career, Governor Calderón has been distinguished with numerous honors and awards:
May 1997 – Manhattanville College – Doctor of Humane Letters May 2001 – Boston University – Doctor of Laws May 2001 – New School University – Doctor of Laws Jan. 2003 – Hunter College – Doctor of Humane Letters May 2004 – Rutgers State University of New Jersey – Doctor of Humane Letters
Governor Calderón has also received other recognitions, including the Order of Isabel La Católica from the King of Spain in 1987, the Harvard Foundation Award in 2003 and the Golden Plate Award from the Academy of Achievement in Washington, D.C. in 2004, among others.
During her tenure, Mrs. Calderón gave particular attention to strengthening the economic, commercial and cultural ties between Puerto Rico and its Latin American neighbors. Underlining this effort, official visits were paid by Governor Calderón to the Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica in the years 2001, 2002 and 2004. In recognition of her administration’s efforts of collaboration between these countries and Puerto Rico, their governments bestowed upon her their most important civil orders: the Order of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella of the Dominican Republic; the Order of Núñez de Balboa of Panama; and the Order of Juan Santamaría of Costa Rica.
[edit] Present
Governor Calderón is pursuing her private endeavors, a business and trade consulting firm, Inter-American Global Links, Inc. (IGlobaL), with links in Central América, the Caribbean and the United States and is also spearheading the development of an environmentally oriented 500-unit housing project in Puerto Rico. She chairs a philanthropic Foundation which has establish a non-profit and non- partisan entity –The Center for Puerto Rico: Sila M. Calderón Foundation—which gives attention to the issues of poverty, women, urban revitalization, ethical values and social responsibility.
Governor Calderón was elected Trustee of the New York Public Library in 2007 and seats on the advisory boards of Primera Chicago and of the Health and Hospital Company (HHC) Foundation of New York City.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- La Fortaleza. Nuestra Gobernadora. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Government of Puerto Rico. 2001.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sila M. Calderon |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sila María Calderón |
| Preceded by Pedro Juan Rosselló González |
Governor of Puerto Rico 2001-2005 |
Succeeded by Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
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