The governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Padilla, nominated Wednesday an openly gay woman for the commonwealth’s Supreme Court, a milestone in the island’s history.

Maite Oronoz Rodríguez, 38, thanked publicly her longtime partner, Gina Méndez, who was present during the press conference held to announce the designation.

The nominee was, up to her appointment, the Director of Legal Affairs of San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital. Meanwhile, Méndez is the Senate’s Chief of Staff.

‘My life is an open book and I will submit to the severity of the Senate process with the same candor that I have lived my life’, said Oronoz Rodríguez, who declined to comment about the legalization of same sex marriage, a topic that has been under discussion, alongwith otherLGBTT community relatedlegislationon the US commonwealth.

She added that the federal Supreme Court has under consideration a case on the subject, anda relatedbillsubmittedatthe local Legislaturecouldreachthe Puerto Rican top court.

García Padilla said that he has known the lawyer for many years andvouched forher legal skills.

Oronoz Rodríguez is the daughter of a former judge of the local Court of Appeals for whom theGovernor himself clerkedearlyon his career.She obtained her Juris Doctors at the University of Puerto Rico’s Law School and holds a Master of Laws from Columbia University.She obtained her bachelor’s degree fromVilanova University. She also took courses in Florence, Italy.

*Spanish version:

García Padilla nombra primera jueza abiertamente lesbiana al Supremo (galería)