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.R. de la C. 126 del 2013, "Reglamento de la Cámara de Representantes del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" (in Spanish) House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (January 15, 2013). Retrieved on August 9, 2013.

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 District 36 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 Several laws eventually superseded said act, and the post was eventually established by the Constitution of Puerto Rico, specifically Article III, which establishes that, "[...]the House of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 [shall elect] a Speaker from among [its] 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

+ # Portrait Name Took office Left office Party Speaker pro tempore 1 Manuel F. Rossy Calderón December 3, 1900 December 31, 1904 Republican 2 Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón January 10, 1905 December 31, 1906 Union 3 Francisco P. Acuña y Paniagua January 14, 1907 March 6, 1907 Union 4 José de Diego Martínez March 6, 1907 July 16, 1918 Union Juan Bernardo Huyke 5 Juan Bernardo Huyke November 26, 1918 December 31, 1920 Union Miguel Guerra Mondragón 6 Cayetano Coll y Cuchí February 14, 1921 February 11, 1923 Union Alfonso Lastra Chárriez 7 Miguel Guerra Mondragrón February 12, 1923 December 31, 1924 Union Alfonso Lastra Chárriez 8 José Tous Soto February 9, 1925 February 18, 1930 Republican Miguel Guerra Modragón1925–1929Benigno Fernández García1929–1930 9 Manuel F. Rossy Calderón February 20, 1930 August 6, 1932 Republican Enrique Landrón Otero1930Rafael Alonso Torres1930–1931 10 Rafael Alonso Torres October 18, 1932 December 31, 1932 Socialist Jorge Romaní 11 Miguel A. García Méndez February 13, 1933 December 31, 1940 Republican Rafael Alonso Torres 12 Samuel R. Quiñones Quiñones February 12, 1941 March 5, 1943 PPD Luis Sánchez Frasqueri 13 Rafael Arrillaga Torrens March 5, 1943 February 24, 1944 Socialist Julio Reguero González 14 Rafael Rodríguez Pacheco February 24, 1944 December 31, 1944 Republican Julio Reguero González 15 María L. Gómez Garriga January 11, 1945 February 12, 1945 PPD Guillermo Alicea Campos 16 Francisco M. Susoni Abreu February 12, 1945 June 5, 1948 PPD Ernesto Ramos Antonini 17 Ernesto Ramos Antonini June 22, 1948 January 9, 1963 PPD Benjamín Ortiz Ortiz1949–1952María L. Gómez Garriga1953–1956Jorge Font Saldaña1957–1962 18 Santiago Polanco Abreu January 14, 1963 December 31, 1964 PPD Benjamín Ortiz Ortiz 19 Arcilio Alvarado Alvarado January 11, 1965 December 31, 1968 PPD Aguedo Mojica 20 Angel Viera Martínez January 13, 1969 December 31, 1972 PNP Rubén Otero Bosco1969–1970José E. Salichs Lope de Haro1970–1972 21 Luis E. Ramos Yordán January 8, 1973 December 31, 1976 PPD Severo Colberg Ramírez 22 Angel Viera Martínez January 10, 1977 January 28, 1982 PNP José N. Granados Navedos1977 – 1978José E. Salichs Lope de Haro1978 – December 31, 1980Severo Colberg Ramírez1981 – 1982 23 Severo Colberg Ramírez January 28, 1982 December 31, 1984 PPD Presby Santiago García 24 José R. Jarabo Alvarez January 14, 1985 December 31, 1992 PPD Samuel Ramírez Torres 25 Zaida R. Hernández Torres January 11, 1993 December 31, 1996 PNP Edison Misla Aldarondo 26 Edison Misla Aldarondo January 13, 1997 December 31, 2000 PNP José N. Granados NavedosJanuary 1997 – June 30, 1999Edwin Mundo RíosJune 30, 1999 – December 31, 2000 27 Carlos Vizcarrondo Irizarry January 8, 2001 December 31, 2004 PPD Ferdinand Pérez Román 28 José F. Aponte Hernández January 10, 2005 December 31, 2008 PNP Epifanio Jiménez 29 Jenniffer A. González Colón January 12, 2009 December 31, 2012 PNP Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló 30 Jaime Perelló January 14, 2013 August 29, 2016 PPD Roberto Rivera 31 Carlos Johnny Méndez January 9, 2017 December 31, 2020 PNP José Torres Zamora 32 Rafael Hernández Montañez January 11, 2021 January 2, 2025 PPD José "Conny" Varela 33 Carlos Johnny Méndez January 2, 2025 present PNP Angel Peña Ramírez

Speakers pro tempore The Vice President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (commonly called the Speaker pro tempore) 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.

See also List of Legislative Assemblies of Puerto Rico

References