Pedro Pierluisi Biography

Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia[a][b] (born April 26, 1959) is an attorney who was the 19th Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2017. In this capacity, Pierluisi served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and as the only delegate that represents all U.S. citizens residing on the island. His constituency encompassed about 3.3 million people and, unlike most others, belongs to an at-large congressional district that covers his entire domicile rather than a subdivision of it. Pierluisi's rights and privileges differed from other congressmen as well, as he is denied a vote on the final disposition of all legislations on the House floor because of his designation as resident commissioner. Still, save for that exception, he exercised his functions like that of any other congressman. He has Italian ancestry.