Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón | |
|---|---|
Hernández Colón in 1973 | |
| Governor of Puerto Rico | |
| In office January 2, 1985 – January 2, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Carlos Romero Barceló |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Rosselló |
| In office January 2, 1973 – January 2, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Luis A. Ferré |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Romero Barceló |
| 6th President of the Puerto Rico Senate | |
| In office January 2, 1969 – January 2, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel R. Quiñones |
| Succeeded by | Juan Cancel Ríos |
| Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico | |
| In office January 2, 1965 – January 2, 1969 | |
| Governor | Roberto Sánchez Vilella |
| Preceded by | José Trías Monge |
| Succeeded by | Hector Reichard De Cardona |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 24, 1936 |
| Died | May 2, 2019 (aged 82) |
| Resting place | Cementerio Catolico San Vicente de Paul |
| Party | Popular Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Relations | Pablo Hernández Rivera (grandson) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Johns Hopkins University (BA) University of Puerto Rico School of Law (JD) |
Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the fourth and sixth democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993. He previously served as the sixth president of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973.
Having won his first term of office at the age of 36, Hernandez Colón is the youngest person to have served as a popularly elected governor. Having held the office for 12 years, he is also the second longest-serving popularly elected governor, after Luis Muñoz Marín, who served for 16 years. He is the only popularly elected governor to have served non-consecutive terms of office. He ran for governor in 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1988, making him the person to have run for governor the most times.
During his time as governor under the pro-commonwealth Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Hernández Colón sponsored ambitious programs of economic development and housing construction. He also defended the political status quo of Puerto Rico as unincorporated territory of the United States, opposing the efforts by President Ford to make the archipelago and island the 51st state of the United States.