Thomas Rivera Schatz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minority Leader of the Puerto Rico Senate | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Eduardo Bhatia |
| President of the New Progressive Party | |
Acting | |
| In office July 22, 2019 – August 16, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Ricardo Rosselló |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Pierluisi |
| 14th and 16th President of the Puerto Rico Senate | |
| In office January 9, 2017 – January 2, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Eduardo Bhatia |
| Succeeded by | José Luis Dalmau |
| In office January 2, 2009 – January 1, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Kenneth McClintock |
| Succeeded by | Eduardo Bhatia |
| Member of the Puerto Rico Senate from the at-large district | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 10, 1966 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | New Progressive |
| Other political affiliations | Republican |
| Relatives | José Rivera Díaz (father) |
| Education | Interamerican University of Puerto Rico (BA) Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law (JD) |
Thomas Rivera Schatz (born June 10, 1966) is a Puerto Rican politician, legal advisor, attorney, and former prosecutor, who was the fourteenth and sixteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He is affiliated with New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (abbr. PNP in Spanish) and the mainland Democratic Party. On July 22, 2019, Rivera Schatz announced that he will take over as acting chair of the PNP following the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló due to the Telegramgate scandal.
Rivera Schatz was born on June 10, 1966, in the Bronx Borough of New York City. He is the son of José A. "Nía" Rivera, a past mayor of Trujillo Alto, and Christina Schatz, a German woman.[1] While in college, he worked full-time at the City of San Juan Public Works Department. He attended the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law, where he graduated in 1992. A year later, he passed the bar exam required to practice law in Puerto Rico.[2]
Rivera Schatz started his legal career as a legal advisor in the Senate and House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. In 1996, Governor Pedro Rosselló appointed him as a prosecutor at the Puerto Rico Department of Justice. After finishing his service as a prosecutor, he returned to private practice, handling both criminal and civil cases.
In 2000, Rivera Schatz was named Electoral Commissioner for the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP).
Two years later, party president Pedro Rosselló named Rivera Schatz as secretary general of the PNP in addition to his current position as electoral commissioner. He served both positions simultaneously until August 1, 2007, when he decided to run for senator.
Rivera Schatz ran for senator at the PNP primaries where he won a slot in the ballot, receiving the second-most votes. In the 2008 general elections, Rivera Schatz was elected senator. His fellow senators then elected him to be the 14th president of Puerto Rico's Senate. As such, he selected the following persons for his team:
Rivera Schatz was sworn into his post on January 12, 2009.
Thomas Rivera Schatz was reelected in 2012 and elected for the third time as a member of the Senate majority in the 2016 election with 10.33% of the "at large" votes, placing him in second place after independent senatorial candidate Dr. José Vargas Vidot and followed by Juan Dalmau of the Puerto Rico Independence Party (PIP).[3] Rivera Schatz was elected to a second term as President of the Senate of Puerto Rico starting January 2017.[4] He holds two records, first as the only reelected Senate President during the past 28 years and the only Senate President ever elected as such to non-consecutive terms.
On July 22, 2019, Rivera Schatz announced he would succeed Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló as head of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP).[5] Rosselló announced his intention to resign due to the ongoing controversy surrounding Telegramgate.[6]
Rivera Schatz and his father are avid collectors of antique cars.[7][8]
