Sila María Calderón

Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who served as the eighth democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. Calderón became the first female to be elected or serve as governor since the establishment of the office in 1508. She previously served as the mayor of San Juan, the capital municipality of Puerto Rico, from 1997 to 2001. She also held various positions in the government of Puerto Rico, including Secretary of State from 1988 to 1989.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. After being sworn in, Calderón appointed her two daughters, Sila Mari and María Elena, to serve as First Ladies.

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. The program intended to create 14,500 development projects in 686 communities. The program has been criticized for many of the projects never being completed and funds instead being diverted.

In 2003, Calderón announced her determination to fulfill the commitments of her platform and her decision not to seek re-election in 2004.

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.

Honours and awards

During her career, Calderón has received many honors and awards: 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.

Personal life Calderón was married to engineer Francisco Xavier González Goenaga from 1964 to 1975.

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. They were divorced two years later.