Meet Vanessa Viera-Rabelo. Vanessa Viera-Rabelo is the Chief Deputy Secretary of State of Puerto Rico.

Vanessa Viera-Rabelo is the Chief Deputy Secretary of State of Puerto Rico.

Vanessa Viera-Rabelo, Esq. holds a distinguished career in both the private and public sector. In 2009 she was appointed Chief Deputy Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, responsible for overseeing the management of all operations at the State Department of Puerto Rico which include areas such as: Corporations, Passports, Registry of Trademark, Protocol and administrative support for over twenty Board of Examiners for various professions. Ms. Viera is the highest-ranking woman in the Executive Branch under the administration of Republican Governor, Luis Fortuno.
She is admitted to the practice of law in the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. During her 17 years litigation practice, Ms. Viera has also argued cases before the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ms. Viera graduated from the School of Business Administration of Sacred Heart University, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a major in Accounting. In 1991, she obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While in law school she was a writer for Juris, the Duquesne Law School Magazine, publishing the article “Will Puerto Rico become the 51st State?” She recently graduated from the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University.
In recent years, various articles of her authorship have been published in leading newspaper publications in Puerto Rico; she has offered courses on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Conflicts Mediation and has served as Vice-President to the Association of Pro-Statehood Attorneys. Ms. Viera has participated in various conferences about women’s issues. During the 2009 LULAC Convention, Ms. Viera was invited to give a Keynote Address at the Women’s Luncheon. In the summer of 2011 Ms. Viera spoke at the Young Republican National Federation Convention held in San Juan, Puerto Rico and stressed the importance of women and minorities in conservative politics.
Ms. Viera is a member of Puerto Rico’s New Progressive Party for statehood, the National Republican Party and is Treasurer for the federal political action committee, Leading Us Into Success, ‘LUISPAC’.
She was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, daughter to Elsie Rabelo and the late, Gil Viera Martinez, Esq. She is niece to the late Hon. Angel Viera Martinez, a prominent pro statehood attorney who became Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives during various intervals in the late 70’s and 80’s. Ms. Viera is married to Mario González Lafuente, Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.