Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Anibal Acevedo Vila officially declared new governor of Puerto Rico

Acevedo Vilá was born in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico on February 13, 1962. Aníbal attended San José High School in San Juan, Puerto Rico where he graduated in 1979. In 1982 he obtained a B.A. in Political Science at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. He continued his studies in Law at the University of Puerto Rico where he was elected Vice President of the Student Council and served as Editor-In-Chief of the UPR Law Review. He obtained his Juris Doctor in 1985, again graduating Magna Cum Laude. After passing the Puerto Rico Bar, Acevedo Vilá completed a year-long clerkship at the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, where he worked under Justice Federico Hernández Denton. In 1987 he obtained a Master's Degree in Law from Harvard University. From 1987 to 1988, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Levin Campbell, Chief Judge of the Federal Court of Appeals, First Circuit Court in Boston, MA.

Acevedo Vilá began his political career in 1989 when he worked as Advisor in Legislative Affairs to then governor Rafael Hernández Colón. In 1992 he was elected as Representative At-Large to Puerto Rico's House of Representatives. He developed his leadership skills during this period and was able to win reelection in 1996. In July 1996, Acevedo Vilá was elected to the Board of Directors of the Popular Democratic Party. That same year he was re-elected to the House of Representative. The following year, his party elected him House Minority Leader. In February 1997, Acevedo Vilá was elected President of the Popular Democratic Party.

In 1998 Acevedo participated in a campaign against the Young Project, a proposed legislative project named after Representative Don Young and headed by the U.S. Congress which seek to resolve the political status of Puerto Rico by calling a referendum. However, the referendum called for in the project would not have included the option for Puerto Rico to remain a Commonwealth with the United States.

Although the project failed to become law, Puerto Rico's elected officials at the time headed by governor Pedro Rosselló organized a non-binding Plebiscite to define Puerto Rico's political status, in which Puerto Ricans where given five options in the ballot; Commonwealth, Associated Republic, Statehood, Independence from the United States, and "None of the Above".

Acevedo and his party believed that the definition for the Commonwealth which was included in the plebsicite ballot was ill-defined, therefore, his party campaigned for the "None of the Above" option. In December 1998, the "None of the Above" column won over the other options on the ballot.

In 2000, Acevedo ran for Resident Commissioner of the island after defeating José Hernández Mayoral in the Party Primary. Later that year, Acevedo defeated PNP incumbent Carlos Romero Barceló. On the same election, Popular Democratic Party candidate, Sila M. Calderón was elected the 7th Democratically Elected Governor of Puerto Rico.

In the summer of 2003, Governor Calderón announced she would not seek re-election the following year. José Hernández Mayoral surfaced as the likely PPD candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico for the 2004 elections. Months following the announcement, Mayoral withdrew from the race, citing personal matters. Acevedo Vilá filled the vacant candidacy.

Acevedo won the Puerto Rico General Elections of 2004 by approximately 3,800 votes (0.2 percent of the vote) over former-governor Pedro Rosselló, therefore, becoming the presumed Governor-elect of Puerto Rico. However, a full recount of the elections is expected since the margin of victory was so small.

Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá is married to Luisa Gándara, and they live in San Juan, Puerto Rico with their two children, Gabriela and Juan Carlos. Acevedo Vilá is also the author of "En Honor a la Verdad" ("In Honor of the Truth"), a compilation of speeches on issues regarding Puerto Rico’s democracy and self-determination.

CNN

Nació el 13 de febrero de 1962 en Hato Rey. Sus estudios secundarios los cursó en el Colegio San José de Río Piedras. En 1982 obtuvo un bachillerato Magna Cum Laude en Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Además completó un grado Magna Cum Laude en Derecho de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, siendo la nota más alta en la reválida de su año.
También tiene una maestría en derecho constitucional magna cum laude de Harvard.

Está casado con Luisa "Piti" Gándara y tiene
dos hijos, Gabriela y Juan Carlos.En el gobierno ha laborado en la rama ejecutiva, legislativa y
judicial, tanto estatal como federal.

Como legislador de minoría y portavoz se caracterizó por su incesante fiscalización a la pasada administración y sus investigaciones destaparon grandes escándalos de corrupción. Asumió la Presidencia del PPD en su momento más crítico. Como Presidente defendió a brazo partido el Estado Libre Asociado y derrotó los intentos de la pasada administración de tronchar los derechos de los puertorriqueños. Con la histórica victoria de "Ninguna de las Anteriores" se consolidó como líder nacional y como la voz de una Nueva Generación.

Ha sido el Comisionado Residente más productivo en los últimos 20 años, presentando legislación propia que fue firmada por el Presidente. Su mayor logro fue con la educación, logrando paridad con los demás estados en fondos federales. Además tuvo importantes logros en Salud, Veteranos y Ambiente.

El 2 de noviembre se convertirá en el gobernador de todos los puertorriqueños y su Revolución Positiva transformará nuestro país.

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last updated:Monday August 29, 2005