Sila María Calderón

Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was the governor of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first woman elected to that office. Prior to her term as governor, Calderón held various positions in the government of Puerto Rico, including the 12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from 1988 to 1989, and Chief of Staff to Governor Rafael Hernández Colón. She was also mayor of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, from 1997 to 2001.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Calderón and the second or maternal family name is Serra.

Sila Calderón
Calderón in 2001
Governor of Puerto Rico
In office
January 2, 2001 – January 2, 2005
Preceded byPedro Rosselló
Succeeded byAníbal Acevedo Vilá
Mayor of San Juan
In office
January 2, 1997 – January 2, 2001
Preceded byHéctor Luis Acevedo
Succeeded byJorge Santini
12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
In office
1988–1989
GovernorRafael Hernández Colón
Preceded byAlfonso Lopez Chaar
Succeeded byAntonio Colorado
Personal details
Born
Sila María Calderón Serra

(1942-09-23) September 23, 1942
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Spain
Political partyPopular 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)​
      Childrenincluding Sila
      EducationManhattanville College (BA)

      Early life and education

      Sila Calderón Serra was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 23, 1942, to entrepreneur César Augusto Calderón and Sila Serra Jesús. Her maternal grandfather Miguel Serra Joy emigrated from Mallorca, Balearic Islands to Puerto Rico in the late 19th century which granted Calderón Spanish citizenship in 2012.[1] She attended high school at the Colegio Sagrado Corazón de Las Madres in Santurce, Puerto Rico. In 1964 she graduated with honors from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. She later attended the Graduate School of Public Administration at the University of Puerto Rico.[2][3][4][5][6]

      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 1976 general elections, Calderón went to work on the private sector working as Director of Business Development at Citibank, N.A. in San Juan.[7] At the time, Citibank in San Juan was one of John Reed's experimental marketing centers. As part of her business development responsibilities, Calderón designed and marketed several new consumer products which significantly increased the earnings of the Retail Division of the Bank. In 1978, she became president of Commonwealth Investment Company, a family real estate concern that owned and managed industrial buildings.[6]

      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, Banco Popular, and Pueblo International. She also served as part of the Committee for Economic Development of Puerto Rico, the Sor Isolina Ferré Foundation, and as President of the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation during 1991 and 1992.[2]

      Political career

      Mayor of San Juan: 1997–2001

      Calderón returned to public life in 1995, running in the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) primary for Mayor of San Juan. She won the primary handily over her two opponents by a huge margin. After that, she became President of the Municipal Committee of the PPD in San Juan, and later became part of the board of directors of the Party.[5]

      In the 1996 mayoral general election, she was elected Mayor of San Juan, becoming the second woman in the city's history to serve in that office and the first woman elected to the position.[8] As mayor, she undertook one of the largest public works program in the city to date, sponsoring various urban redevelopment projects to revitalize Old San Juan, Condado, Río Piedras, Santurce, and other deteriorated sections of the city. She also initiated the Special Communities Program to assist poor communities’ empowerment and economic development.[9][10]

      Governor: 2001–2004

      On April 21, 1999, Calderón presented her candidacy to be Governor of Puerto Rico. On May 31, she won the primary and took the presidency of the party, with then-President Aníbal Acevedo Vilá assuming the role of Vice-president. Acevedo Vilá eventually became Calderón's running mate for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico.[3]

      In 2000, Calderón led the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) during a close campaign for governor against Carlos Pesquera (PNP) and Rubén Berríos (PIP). Calderón was elected governor, becoming the first elected female governor in the history of Puerto Rico.[11] After being sworn in, Calderón appointed her two daughters, Sila Mari and María Elena, to serve as First Ladies.[12]

      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 Order of Isabella the Catholic by Juan Carlos I, 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:

      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.

      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

      References
      1. "A su abuelo con ciudadania española Edición". El Vocero de Puerto Rico. October 15, 2012. p. 10. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
      2. Biografía de Sila M. Calderón on Boricuas Hall of Fame (2001)
      3. Sila Calderón Serra: Datos Relevantes on Centro de Estudios y Documentación Internacionales de Barcelona
      4. Biografía: Sila Calderón on Biblioteca Centro para Puerto Rico
      5. Biografía de Sila Calderón on LexJuris
      6. Sila Calderón on LaBiografia.com
      7. Sila M. Calderón on Biblioteca Centro para Puerto Rico
      8. Consulta de Resultados: Municipio de San Juan Archived November 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine on CEEPUR
      9. Rivera Quintero, Marcia (2014), El vuelo de la esperanza : Proyecto de las Comunidades Especiales Puerto Rico, 1997–2004 (Primera edición ed.), San Juan, Puerto Rico Fundación Sila M. Calderón, ISBN 978-0-9820806-1-0
      10. "Leyes del 2001". Lex Juris Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved June 24, 2019.
      11. Elecciones Generales 2000: Resumen del Escrutinio on CEEPUR.org
      12. Boricuas Hall of Fame: Biografía de Sila M. Calderón
      13. "Sila Calderón defiende la inversión en Comunidades Especiales". Primera Hora (in Spanish). March 1, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
      14. "ayudalegalpr.org". ayudalegalpr.org (in Spanish). Retrieved October 14, 2021.
      15. "Sila Calderón dice que Aníbal Acevedo Vilá la amenazó". Primera Hora (in Spanish). August 30, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
      16. Salamán, Adriana De Jesús. ""Aquí hubo un desfalco" con fondos de comunidades especiales". www.noticel.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
      17. Writer, Matthew Hay Brown, Sentinel Staff. "GOVERNOR ENDS HOSTAGE STANDOFF IN PUERTO RICO". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
      18. "Fundacion Sila M. Calderón www.fundacionsilamcalderon.org". Fundación Sila M. Calderón. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
      19. "Harvard Foundation honors governor of Puerto Rico". Harvard Gazette. October 16, 2003. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
      20. Ahora es oficial el divorcio Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine on Primera Hora; Díaz Alcaide, Maritza (November 7, 2001)
      21. Boda de Sila Calderón on BodaClickPR
      22. Comprometidos Cantero Frau y Ada Torres Toro Archived June 29, 2016, at the Wayback Machine on El Nuevo Día; Hernández, Yanira (August 20, 2010)
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