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Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic, 1844 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

Independence came 22 years later in 1844, after victory in the Dominican War of Independence. The next 72 years saw several civil wars, corrupt dictatorships, failed invasions by Haiti, and a brief return to Spanish colonial status. The United States occupied the Dominican Republic from 1916 to 1924, followed by the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, ruling from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. Since 1996, the Dominican Republic has moved towards representative democracy.

Seat of power: Santo Domingo

Rulers

Fernando Arturo de Meriño

President of the Dominican Republic, 1880–1882

Fernando Meriño, a Catholic priest, became president in September 1880. He abided by the two-year term established under Luperón, handing the reins of government over to Heureaux on September 1, 1882. The administrations of Luperón and Meriño succeeded in bringing relative economic stability to the republic.

Portrait of Fernando Arturo de Meriño: Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta, Public domain, file

Ulises Heureaux

President of the Dominican Republic, 1887–1899

Heureaux ruled the Dominican Republic as a dictator. He developed an extensive network of secret police and informants to avert rebellions, assassinating or forcing into exile the politicians he could not co-opt. His dictatorship undertook many ambitious projects to modernize the country, including the electrification of Santo Domingo and a rail line linking Santiago to Puerto Plata.

Portrait of Ulises Heureaux: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Ramón Cáceres

President of the Dominican Republic, 1906–1911

Cáceres was the 31st president of the Dominican Republic and the leader of the right-wing Red Party. He created a professional army to replace the private armies of regional leaders, and he turned the Rural Guard into a police force for the entire country, called the Republican Guard. Cáceres was assassinated in 1911 after being ambushed by rebels and killed in his car.

Portrait of Ramón Cáceres: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Horacio Vásquez

President of the Dominican Republic, 1924–1930

He was elected president with 69.8% of the votes. The forced extension of his mandate until 1930 and his eventual reelection caused a revolt by the National Guard, led by Rafael Trujillo, that overthrew Vásquez in 1930.

Portrait of Horacio Vásquez: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Rafael Trujillo

President of the Dominican Republic, 1930–1938

He was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. In that position, Trujillo ruled the country under figurehead presidents. In 1937, 17,000 to 35,000 Haitians were killed by the Dominican Army under Trujillo's orders in the Parsley massacre.

Portrait of Rafael Trujillo: Unknown author., Public domain, file

Rafael Trujillo

President of the Dominican Republic, 1942–1952

His 31-year rule, known as the Age of Trujillo, centered around a personality cult of the ruling family. Trujillo's security forces, including the infamous SIM, were responsible for many murders. His supporters credit him for bringing long-term stability, economic growth and prosperity, while critics denounce the heavy-handed and violent nature of his regime.

Portrait of Rafael Trujillo: Unknown author., Public domain, file

Joaquín Balaguer

President of the Dominican Republic, 1966–1978

Balaguer ordered the construction of schools, hospitals, dams, roads, and many important buildings. He was easily reelected in 1970 and won again in 1974 after changing the voting rules in a way that led the opposition to boycott the race. His administration soon developed a distinct authoritarian cast, and political opponents were jailed and sometimes killed.

Portrait of Joaquín Balaguer: Unknown author, Public domain, file

Antonio Guzmán Fernández

President of the Dominican Republic, 1978–1982

When the returns were all in, Guzmán handed Balaguer the first loss of his electoral career. During his presidency, the country turned in a more democratic direction and was characterized by a strong respect for civil liberties. He implemented a program that reassigned or even removed officers who were skeptical of his plans and also promoted younger officers who stood behind him.

Portrait of Antonio Guzmán Fernández: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Salvador Jorge Blanco

President of the Dominican Republic, 1982–1986

Jorge Blanco won the elections of 1982 and became president. In April 1984, sharp price increases mandated as part of an economic stabilization program approved by the International Monetary Fund led to massive riots and scores of deaths. In 1985, for the first time since the 1965 civil war, the country experienced negative growth rates.

Portrait of Salvador Jorge Blanco: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Joaquín Balaguer

President of the Dominican Republic, 1986–1996

His third presidency was considerably more liberal than the Twelve Years had been. He was more tolerant of opposition parties and human rights. He undertook massive infrastructure projects, such as the construction of highways, bridges, schools, housing projects and hospitals.

Portrait of Joaquín Balaguer: Unknown author, Public domain, file

Leonel Fernández

President of the Dominican Republic, 1996–2000

He secured 51.2% of the votes to win the election and was sworn in as president on 16 August 1996. His political agenda was one of economic and critical reform. The Dominican economy enjoyed an average growth rate of seven percent, the highest in Latin America for that period.

Portrait of Leonel Fernández: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, file

Hipólito Mejía

President of the Dominican Republic, 2000–2004

He took 49.87% of the vote in the first round of the 2000 presidential election. He established the country's first social security type retirement system. During his term the country was affected by one of its worst economic crises, generated by the bankruptcy of three major commercial banks.

Portrait of Hipólito Mejía: Unknown author, Public domain, file

Leonel Fernández

President of the Dominican Republic, 2004–2012

He was elected to a second term of office in the presidential election held on 16 May 2004 with an absolute majority. His victory was due in large part to the collapse of the Dominican economy. He was declared the victor of the 2008 election, defeating six others, and was sworn in for his third term on 16 August 2008.

Portrait of Leonel Fernández: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, file

Danilo Medina

President of the Dominican Republic, 2012–2020

He won the 2012 presidential election with 51.24% of the votes, defeating Hipólito Mejía. Medina vowed to fight corruption, create jobs and invest in education in the Caribbean nation. In 2016 he was re-elected for a second term, defeating Luis Abinader with 61.8% of the votes.

Portrait of Danilo Medina: Presidencia El Salvador from San Salvador, El Salvador, América Central, CC0, file

Luis Abinader

President of the Dominican Republic, 2020 to today

Abinader was sworn in as president on 16 August 2020. In the 19 May 2024 election, he was re-elected with 57% of the votes. He made the fight against illegal immigration one of his priorities, and construction of a border wall with Haiti began in February 2023.

Portrait of Luis Abinader: Presidenza della Repubblica, Attribution, file

Culture

Picture

The Altar de la Patria in Santo Domingo is a white marble mausoleum that houses the remains of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic.

Image: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz), CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.