Leonel Fernández
Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna (ⓘ) (born 26 December 1953) is a Dominican lawyer, academic, and was the 50th and 52nd President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012. From 2016 until 2020, he was the President of the EU–LAC Foundation.
Leonel Fernández | |
|---|---|
Leonel Fernández, 2016 | |
| 50th & 52nd President of the Dominican Republic | |
| In office 16 August 2004 – 16 August 2012 | |
| Vice President | Rafael Alburquerque |
| Preceded by | Hipólito Mejía |
| Succeeded by | Danilo Medina |
| In office 16 August 1996 – 16 August 2000 | |
| Vice President | Jaime David Fernández Mirabal |
| Preceded by | Joaquín Balaguer |
| Succeeded by | Hipólito Mejía |
| Second Gentleman of the Dominican Republic | |
| In role 16 August 2012 – 16 August 2020 | |
| Vice President | Margarita Cedeño de Fernández |
| Preceded by | Martha Montes de Oca (as Second Lady) |
| Succeeded by | Position Vacant |
| President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations | |
| In office 20 November 2018 – 11 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Park Soo-gil |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna 26 December 1953 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Political party | People's Force (since 2019) |
| Other political affiliations | Dominican Liberation Party (1990–2019) |
| Spouses | |
| Relations | Piedad Quezada, Mayor of Jarabacoa (ex-mother-in-law) |
| Children | 3, including national deputy Omar Fernández |
| Alma mater | Autonomous University of Santo Domingo |
| Signature | |
| Website | www |
Fernández became the first elected president of the Dominican Republic under his political party, the Dominican Liberation Party (Partido de la Liberación Dominicana, or PLD), although party founder Juan Bosch was also sworn in as president in 1963 after the first democratic elections held in roughly four decades in the country. Fernández's administrations have focused much on technological and infrastructural development and macroeconomic and monetary stability. He has served as the party president of the Dominican Liberation Party from 2001 until his resignation on 20 October 2019. He later founded the People's Force and nominated himself as its party's presidential nominee.
He is a native of Villa Juana, Distrito Nacional and lived for much of his childhood and early adulthood in New York City.
Leonel Fernández is the President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations and a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.