Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Puerto Rican politician (born 1962) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, where he obtained his Juris Doctor degree. Acevedo Vilá has held various public service positions in the Puerto Rico government under the Popular Democratic Party, serving as a member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (1993–2001) and as the 17th Resident Commissioner (2001–2005), before he was sworn in as Governor on 2 January 2005. Acevedo Vilá was also a member of the National Governors Association, the Southern Governors' Association and the Democratic Governors Association, and a collaborator of President Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Also he is currently an adjunct professor of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. He unsuccessfully ran for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the 2020 elections for the Popular Democratic Party.
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá | |
---|---|
Governor of Puerto Rico | |
In office January 2, 2005 – January 2, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Sila María Calderón |
Succeeded by | Luis Fortuño |
17th Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico | |
In office 3 January 2001 – 3 January 2005 | |
Preceded by | Carlos Romero Barceló |
Succeeded by | Luis Fortuño |
Minority Leader of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives | |
In office January 1997 – January 2001 | |
Preceded by | Severo Colberg Toro |
Succeeded by | Víctor García San Inocencio |
Member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from the at-large district | |
In office January 1993 – January 2001 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (1962-02-13) 13 February 1962 (age 62) Hato Rey, Puerto Rico |
Political party | Popular Democratic |
Other political affiliations | Democratic |
Spouse | Piti Gándara (deceased 2023) |
Children | 2 |
Education | |
On 27 March 2008, Acevedo Vilá was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on 19 counts of campaign finance violations.[1] He subsequently organized a press conference, where he claimed that he is innocent of all charges presented against him. On 19 August 2008, he was charged with five more counts. On 1 December 2008 Judge Paul Barbadoro determined that 15 of those charges were based on a flawed theory, leaving him with only nine charges. On 20 March 2009, Acevedo Vilá was found by a jury not guilty of all the charges against him.
On 4 November 2008, he failed in his bid for a second term, losing to incumbent Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño. Two days later he stepped down as president of the Popular Democratic Party.[2]
Since 2009 he has served as the chief executive officer of the Optim Group.[3]