Ralph A. Alvarado (born April 30, 1970) is an American physician and politician and is currently serving as the 15th Commissioner of the

Tennessee Department of Health The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) is the primary agency of state government in Tennessee responsible for public health. Its workforce provides a variety of direct and indirect services to residents and visitors in all 95 counties of the ...

. He served as a member of the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators. The Kentu ...

representing the 28th District from 2015 to 2023. Upon taking office, he became the first Hispanic person elected to the Kentucky General Assembly. His father is from

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and his mother is from Argentina. He assumed office on January 1, 2015, serving until January 6, 2023, when he would resign to accept the role of commissioner. Alvarado was born in San Francisco, California and raised in Pacifica and San Jose, California. He graduated from

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-male, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. In 2020, Niche ...

in San Jose in 1988. He graduated from

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...

in California in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and completed an MD from the same university in 1994. He completed his residency at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. He spoke at the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken Lo ...

. He sponsored a 2017 medical malpractice bill that was later struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court for obstructing access to the courts. Alvarado was chosen by Governor Matt Bevin to be his running mate in the

2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the Governor of Kentucky, governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee, ...

. The Bevin-Alvarado ticket lost the general election on November 5, 2019, to the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

ticket of Andy Beshear and Jacqueline Coleman. On November 22, 2022, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that he had appointed Alvarado commissioner of the

. Alvarado would resign from the

on January 6, 2023, and become the 15th Commissioner of the

on January 16, 2023. A special election will be held on May 16, 2023, to fill the 28th Senate District vacancy created by Alvarado's resignation.

References

External links

Profile at the Kentucky Senate website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarado, Ralph 1970 births 21st-century American politicians American people of Argentine descent American people of Costa Rican descent American politicians of Costa Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators Republican Party Kentucky state senators Living people Loma Linda University alumni People from Pacifica, California Politicians from San Francisco People from San Jose, California People from Winchester, Kentucky Physicians from Kentucky