Héctor Luis Acevedo Pérez (born November 8, 1947) is a Puerto Rican politician from Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is the son of Héctor N. Acevedo and Toñita Pérez, both public servants. Acevedo has been married to Carmen Roca Saavedra since 1972, with whom he has three children.
Biography
Héctor Luis studied in the University of Puerto Rico Elementary School and High School but completed High School in Spain in the America School of Madrid. There he won the Director's Cup and the medal in history. He completed a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Puerto Rico with high honors. He obtained his degree in law from the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce in 1972, where he also graduated with honors. Acevedo then entered the United States Army Reserve as a commissioned officer after completing the Army ROTC program. As part of his military functions, he was an instructor in the United States Army Command and General Staff College. Also commanded the 429 Personnel Company. Acevedo retired from the Army Reserve in 1998. While in university he was elected president of the student council, president of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and in 1967, Lodge Chief of Yokahu Lodge of the Order of the Arrow of the Boy Scouts of America, Puerto Rico Council; was also recognized with the Vigil Honor.
In 1976, he was appointed Electoral Commissioner when he was only twenty-eight years old, making him the youngest person to hold that position. He remained as Electoral Commissioner until 1984. In 1978, he completed the Lawyer's Education Program at the Harvard Law School. That same year he began working as an assistant to then-Governor Rafael Hernández Colón.
In 1985 he was appointed Secretary of State. In 1988, he was elected mayor of San Juan in a close race. He was reelected in 1992 by a much larger margin. In 1994, he was elected president of the Popular Democratic Party, and in 1996 he ran unsuccessfully for governor of Puerto Rico, losing by a 51% to 45% margin to Pedro Rosselló. Since then he has dedicated his time to teaching full time at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. He is also a part-time professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law. Considered Gov. Jesús T. Piñero's principal biographer, he is also contributing to the biography of former Puerto Rico Senate Vice President Luis Negrón López, the PDP's 1968 gubernatorial candidate.