Eduardo Bhatia Gautier (born May 16, 1964) is a Puerto Rican attorney and politician. Bhatia is a former 15th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico and executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.

Early life and education

Eduardo Bhatia was born in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

on May 16, 1964. Bhatia's father, the economist and retired professor Mohinder Bhatia, came to Puerto Rico in 1957 as an assistant to a

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

professor who had been in India on a one-year sabbatical. He remained in Puerto Rico and married Carmen Gautier Mayoral in 1961, a political science professor at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

and niece-in-law of

Felisa Rincón de Gautier Felisa Rincón de GautierThis name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name '' "Rincón"'' and the second or matrimonial family name is ''"Gautier"''. (), also known as Doña Fela, (January 9, 1897 – Septembe ...

. Eduardo Bhatia is one of three siblings. His brother, Andrés Bhatia, is a practicing

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

, and his sister, Lisa Bhatia, is an assistant U.S. attorney at the San Juan District office of the U.S. Attorney. Bhatia Toledo did his secondary studies at Colegio San José. Graduated with an A.B. from the

Princeton School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (''abbrev.'' SPIA; formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of co ...

in 1986 after completing a 132-page-long senior thesis titled "New Roads for Old Objectives: The

Compact of Free Association The Compacts of Free Association (COFA) are international agreements establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia ( ...

with the Micronesian Islands and its Applicability to the Future of the

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

- United States Relationship." During Bhatia's university years, he was a member of the Princeton Democratic Students Association and the Student Council, actively participating in the student movement against

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in South Africa. In May 1986, Bhatia was awarded a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to study law, economics and politics in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, for one year. Around this time he became a member of

Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha (), commonly known as La Sigma, is a Puerto Rican fraternity originally established as the Sigma Delta Alpha Fraternity (Sociedad de Amigos) on October 22, 1928, at the University of Puerto Rico by twelve students and a professor ...

fraternity. Bhatia graduated from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

in June 1990, where he founded and edited the ''Stanford Journal of Law and Policy'', an academic publication with an emphasis on the development of new laws and public policy. As part of his community work as a law student in Stanford, Bhatia also directed a campaign to prevent the approval of a rent increase in the low-income East Palo Alto community. He is admitted to practice law in Florida, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Professional career

After graduating, Bhatia worked for a year as a judicial officer for Judge Levin H. Campbell, at the

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. From 1991 to 1992, he was the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jaime Fuster in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

From 1993 to 1995, Bhatia worked as a lawyer for the San Juan-based law firm McConnell Valdés.

Political career

First term as Senator: 1996–2000

In 1996, at the age of 32, Bhatia was elected Senator at Large by the Popular Democratic Party, becoming the youngest Puerto Rican senator in that four-year term and one of the youngest in the history of the Senate of Puerto Rico. As member of numerous Senatorial committees and spokesperson for his party, his efforts were focused toward increasing employment and educational opportunities for Puerto Rico's youth. He also sought consensus, joining PNP senators in co-sponsoring legislation. An example was the introduction of a bill with Sen.

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s N ...

to improve financial education in public schools, which was vetoed by Gov.

Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, an ...

. A political analyst acknowledged his hard work by calling Mr. Bhatia "Puerto Rico's top senator."

Campaign for mayor of San Juan: 2000–2003

In 2000, ran for mayor of San Juan against New Progressive Party candidate

Jorge Santini Jorge Santini Padilla (born March 11, 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who previously served as the mayor of San Juan. State Service In 1975, Santini became a member of the United States Marines Air Cadets Corps. At present, he is lieutena ...

. However, he was defeated by less than 4,000 votes. After that, Bhatia worked as a lawyer in private practice and as a professor at the

, School of Law in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. During this time Bhatia was also involved in community work.

Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration: 2005–2008

In January 2005, Governor

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who 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 ...

appointed Bhatia as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in

As such, Bhatia represented the Governor on matters before state and federal agencies as well as before

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and the Executive branch. He managed PRFAA's staff in the areas of Government Affairs, Federal Grants, Communications, Outreach and Public Affairs and Community Affairs, to carry out the agency's mission of advancing the well-being of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and of Puerto Ricans in the United States. As the Governor's Official Representative in the United States, he worked in education, health and environmental issues. He had also been working in special projects that will help increase economic growth in Puerto Rico's rural areas. Bhatia resigned to the position on February 15, 2008, to run again for Senator. He was succeeded by attorney Flavio Cumpiano.

Second term as Senator: 2008–2020

Bhatia was elected as an official Senate candidate in the PPD primary on March 9, 2008, becoming the second most voted person of all the pre-candidates for Senate. At the 2008 general elections, Bhatia won one of only five Senate seats obtained by his party. After the elections, the PPD Senate caucus reelected Senator José Luis Dalmau for a third term as PPD Senate Leader and elected Bhatia as

Minority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips ...

. Bhatia presented his candidacy for reelection in 2012. At the

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

that year, he was the candidate with most votes, securing his spot for the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. During the elections, Bhatia was the PPD candidate to the Senate with most votes, and the second overall. After the win, Senator Eduardo Bhatia was elected among his peers as the 15th President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Bhatia was reelected once more in the 2016 General Election. However, his party lost the majority in the Senate and he was succeeded by

Thomas Rivera Schatz Thomas Rivera Schatz (born June 10, 1966) is a Puerto Rican politician, legal advisor, attorney, and former prosecutor, who was the fourteenth, sixteenth and is currently the eighteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He is affiliated ...

as the President of the Senate of Puerto Rico.

Tenure as Senate President

During his tenure as Senate President, Bhatia was selected as Chair of the Council of State Governments of the Eastern Regional Conference (CSG-ERC) and later elected as President of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, by 72% of the vote, becoming the first Senate President and the first Puerto Rican, resident of the island to preside over the organization. He also seats in the board of the Council of State Government (CSG), National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA). During his tenure, he has authored Puerto Rico's Energy Reform law and has tackled education reform legislation.

Personal life

Bhatia is married to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

nian attorney Isabel Cristina Fernández. His mother, Carmen, was a Puerto Rican while his father, Mohinder, was of Punjabi

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

heritage hailing from Mirpur (in today's Pakistan) who migrated to India in 1947.

Notes

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatia, Eduardo 1964 births Colegio San José alumni 20th-century Puerto Rican politicians Living people Popular Democratic Party members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Presidents of the Senate of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of French descent Puerto Rican people of Indian descent Puerto Rican people of Mirpuri descent Puerto Rican people of Punjabi descent Stanford Law School alumni Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico