Sila María Calderón
Sila Calderón | |
---|---|
President of the Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party | |
In office May 31, 1999 – August 14, 2003 | |
Preceded by | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
Succeeded by | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
Mayor of San Juan | |
In office January 2, 1997 – January 2, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Héctor Luis Acevedo |
Succeeded by | Jorge Santini |
12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico | |
In office 1988–1989 | |
Governor | Rafael Hernández Colón |
Preceded by | Alfonso Lopez Chaar |
Succeeded by | Antonio Colorado |
Personal details | |
Born | Sila María Calderón Serra September 23, 1942 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
Citizenship |
|
Political party | Popular Democratic |
Other political affiliations | Democratic |
Spouses | Francisco González
(m. 1964; div. 1975)Adolfo Krans
(m. 1978; div. 2001)Ramón Cantero Frau
(m. 2003; div. 2005) |
Children | including Manhattanville College (BA ) |
Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was the
Early life and education
Sila Calderón Serra was born in
Professional career
First career years: 1973–1985
Her career began in 1973 when she was named Executive Aide to the Labor Secretary, Luis Silva Recio. Two years later, she was named Special Aide for Economic Development to then Governor, Rafael Hernández Colón.[5]
After Hernández Colón was defeated in the
First government positions: 1985–1990
In 1984, Rafael Hernández Colón was again elected governor and he appointed Calderón as Chief of Staff, being the first woman in that position. In 1988, Hernández Colón named her Puerto Rico's 12th Secretary of State.[3]
During this time, Calderón was also part of the Governor's Economic Adviser Council and the board of directors of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank and the Center for Specialized Studies in Government Management. She also presided the Inversions Committee of the Industrial Development Company. She was also Secretary General of the Commission that organized the activities of the Fifth Centenary of the Discovery of the Americas.[3]
Return to private life: 1989–1995
Calderón resigned in 1989 and returned to her business endeavors. She served on the boards of major local corporations such as BanPonce,
Political career
Mayor of San Juan: 1997–2001
Calderón returned to public life in 1995, running in the
In the
Governor: 2001–2004
On April 21, 1999, Calderón presented her candidacy to be
In 2000, Calderón led the
As governor, Calderón took action to help the most disadvantaged communities. With the passing of Law 1 of 2001 the government invested $1 billion to create the Puerto Rico Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development with the intention of developing the marginalized communities of the island.[13][14] The program intended to create 14,500 development projects in 686 communities.[15] The program has been criticized for many of the projects never being completed and funds instead being diverted.[16]
In 2003, Calderón announced her determination to fulfill the commitments of her platform and her decision not to seek re-election in 2004.[3]
On May 26, 2004, Calderón had to deal with a man who entered La Fortaleza, the governor's mansion, with a knife and took a receptionist hostage, demanding to speak directly with Calderón. After Calderón negotiated with the hostage taker, the man dropped the knife and surrendered to the police.[17]
Present
Calderón is a partner in Inter-American Global Links, Inc. (IGlobaL), a business and trade consulting firm with links in Central America, the Caribbean and the United States. She chairs a philanthropic Foundation which has establish a non-profit and non-partisan entity – The Center for Puerto Rico: Sila M. Calderón Foundation – which gives attention to the issues of poverty, women, urban revitalization, ethical values and social responsibility.[18]
Honours and awards
During her career, Calderón has received many honors and awards:[2]
- The Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce named her Outstanding Woman in the Public Sector three times (1975, 1985, 1987).
- In 2005, she was named as one of the Distinguished Women of the Year by the Product Association of Puerto Rico.
- In 1987, she was granted the King of Spain.
- In 1988, she was selected Leader of the Year in the field of Public Works by the American Public Works Association, Chapter of Puerto Rico.
- In 2003, she received the Harvard Foundation Award.[19]
- In 2004, she received the Golden Plate Award from the Academy of Achievement in Washington, DC.
Calderón has also received several honorary degrees:
- 1989 – Manhattanville College– Doctor in Arts and Humanities
- May 1997 – Manhattanville College– Doctor of Humane Letters
- May 2001 – Boston University – Doctor of Laws
- May 2001 – New School University– Doctor of Laws
During her tenure, Calderón gave particular attention to strengthening the economic, commercial and cultural ties between Puerto Rico and its Latin American neighbors. Underlining this effort, official visits were paid by Governor Calderón to the Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica in the years 2001, 2002 and 2004. In recognition of her administration's efforts of collaboration between these countries and Puerto Rico, their governments bestowed upon her their most important civil orders: the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella of the Dominican Republic; the Order of Núñez de Balboa of Panama; and the Order of Juan Santamaría of Costa Rica.[citation needed]
Personal life
Calderón was married to engineer Francisco Xavier González Goenaga from 1964 to 1975.[3] They had three children together: Sila María, Francisco Xavier, and María Elena. Both Sila María and María Elena are attorneys, and they served as "First Ladies" of the Commonwealth during Calderón's governorship.[2] Francisco is an investment banker at RBC Capital Markets.
In 1978, Calderón married entrepreneur Adolfo Krans. They divorced in 2001 after 23 years of marriage.[20]
Calderón married again, during her tenure as governor, with Ramón Cantero Frau, her former Secretary of the Department of Economic Development. The wedding was celebrated on September 10, 2003.[21] They were divorced two years later.[22]
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans – Governors
- History of women in Puerto Rico
- List of female governors in the United States
References
- ^ "A su abuelo con ciudadania española Edición". El Vocero de Puerto Rico. October 15, 2012. p. 10. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Biografía de Sila M. Calderón on Boricuas Hall of Fame (2001)
- ^ a b c d e f Sila Calderón Serra: Datos Relevantes on Centro de Estudios y Documentación Internacionales de Barcelona
- ^ Biografía: Sila Calderón on Biblioteca Centro para Puerto Rico
- ^ a b c Biografía de Sila Calderón on LexJuris
- ^ a b Sila Calderón on LaBiografia.com
- ^ Sila M. Calderón on Biblioteca Centro para Puerto Rico
- ^ Consulta de Resultados: Municipio de San Juan Archived November 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine on CEEPUR
- ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
- ^ "Leyes del 2001". Lex Juris Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ Elecciones Generales 2000: Resumen del Escrutinio on CEEPUR.org
- ^ Boricuas Hall of Fame: Biografía de Sila M. Calderón
- ^ "Sila Calderón defiende la inversión en Comunidades Especiales". Primera Hora (in Spanish). March 1, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "ayudalegalpr.org". ayudalegalpr.org (in Spanish). Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "Sila Calderón dice que Aníbal Acevedo Vilá la amenazó". Primera Hora (in Spanish). August 30, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ Salamán, Adriana De Jesús. ""Aquí hubo un desfalco" con fondos de comunidades especiales". www.noticel.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Matthew Hay. "Governor Ends Hostage Standoff in Puerto Rico". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "Fundacion Sila M. Calderón www.fundacionsilamcalderon.org". Fundación Sila M. Calderón. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "Harvard Foundation honors governor of Puerto Rico". Harvard Gazette. October 16, 2003. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ Ahora es oficial el divorcio Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine on Primera Hora; Díaz Alcaide, Maritza (November 7, 2001)
- ^ Boda de Sila Calderón on BodaClickPR
- ^ Comprometidos Cantero Frau y Ada Torres Toro Archived June 29, 2016, at the Wayback Machine on El Nuevo Día; Hernández, Yanira (August 20, 2010)
External links
- Media related to Sila M. Calderón at Wikimedia Commons
- Sila María Calderón at IMDb
- Biography by CIDOB (in Spanish)