Pedro Pierluisi

Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia (born April 26, 1959) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 2021 to 2025, having previously been the de facto governor from August 2–7, 2019. A member of New Progressive and Democratic Parties, he previously served as acting Secretary of State of Puerto Rico in 2019, as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2017, and as Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1997. He was formerly a private attorney for Puerto Rico's fiscal oversight board under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act.

Pierluisi lost the New Progressive nomination in the 2024 gubernatorial election to Jenniffer González-Colón.

Pierluisi was born on April 26, 1959, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His parents were Doris Urrutia and Jorge Pierluisi Diaz, former Secretary of Housing of Puerto Rico. He attended Colegio Marista Guaynabo in Guaynabo, graduating in 1977. In 1981, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History from Tulane University, and later earned a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School in 1984. He was President of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association chapter at Tulane University. Later, he was president of the George Washington University Law Society International from 1982 to 1983. During his studies at George Washington University, Pierluisi interned at the congressional office of then-Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Baltasar Corrada del Río.

Pierluisi first practiced law as a private attorney in Washington, D.C. from 1984 to 1990. He was one of the principal attorneys representing the Government of Peru in its lawsuit against the Hunt Brothers, Nelson Bunker, William Herbert, and Lamar for attempting to corner the silver market in the late 1970s He then practiced law in Puerto Rico from 1990 until 1993.

In 1993, Governor Pedro Rossello nominated Pierluisi to serve as Puerto Rico's Secretary of Justice. His nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Puerto Rican legislature.

In 1993, Pedro Rosselló, upon his election as Governor of Puerto Rico, appointed Pedro Pierluisi as the Secretary of Justice (Attorney General) for his administration. Pierluisi's confirmation was unanimously approved by the Senate of Puerto Rico. In 1994, Pierluisi collaborated with President Bill Clinton's administration, contributing to the efforts that led to the enactment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Pierluisi concluded his term as Attorney General in January 1997.

On May 18, 2007, Pedro Pierluisi declared his candidacy for the position of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, a role that serves as the island's sole representative in the U.S. Congress. In the 2008 elections, Pierluisi was elected by a significant margin. He was part of the New Progressive Party ticket alongside then-Resident Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Luis Fortuño, following a narrowly contested primary within the party. Pierluisi endorsed Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and served as a co-chair for Obama's campaign efforts in Puerto Rico.

On May 15, 2013, Pierluisi introduced legislation advocating for the admission of Puerto Rico as a state of the United States.