Hector Luis Acevedo
Héctor Luis Acevedo (born in 1947) is a politician from Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is the son of Héctor N. Acevedo and Toñita, both public servants. Acevedo is married to Carmen Roca Saavedra since 1972 with whom he has three children.
Biography
Acevedo studied in the University of Puerto Rico Elementary School and High School, but completed High School in Spain in the America School of Madrid. There he won the Directors Cup and the medal in history. He completed a bachelors degree in Political Science at the University of Puerto Rico with high honors. He obtained his degree in Law from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras in 1972, where he also graduated with honors. Acevedo then entered the United States Army Reserve as a commissioned officer after completing the ROTC program. While in university he was elected president of the student council, president of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and in 1967 president of the Order of the Arrow.
In 1976, he was appointed Electoral Commissioner when he was only twenty-eight years old, making him the youngest person to hold that position. He remained as Electoral Commissioner until 1984. In 1978, he completed the Lawyers Education Program at the Harvard School of Law. That same year he began working as an assistant to then Governor Rafael Hernandez Colon.
In 1985 he was appointed Secretary of State. In 1988, he was elected Mayor of San Juan in a close race. He was reelected in 1992 by a much larger margin. In 1994, he was elected president of the Popular Democratic Party, and in 1996 he ran for governor of Puerto Rico, but was not favored by the electorate. Since then he dedicates his time to teaching full time at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. He is also a part-time professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, School of Law.
He is a vice-president of the Boy Scouts of America Puerto Rican Council.
In 2003, he was appointed President of the Comission for Electoral Finance Reform. Hetor Luis Acevedo is known to be an authority in Puerto Rican electoral law.
Currently he lives in Rio Piedras, where he occasionally plays midnight basketball with his youngest son.
Publications
Acevedo has published various articles in law journals and newspapers. In 1996, he published his book Will Opens Paths ("La Voluntad Abre Caminos"), and in 1997 Messages from the Mayor's Office ("Mensajes Desde la Alcaldia"). He has edited two books: La Generacion del 40 y la Convencion Constituyente and Los Administradores en la Modernizacion de Puerto Rico. His next book: Cartas a mis Estudiantes (Letters to my students) is tobe published soon.