- In full:
- Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna
- Born:
- December 26, 1953, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (age 72)
- Title / Office:
- president (2004-2012), Dominican Republic
- president (1996-2000), Dominican Republic
- Political Affiliation:
- Dominican Liberation Party
Leonel Fernández Reyna
-
Who is Leonel Fernández Reyna?
Leonel Fernández Reyna, born on December 26, 1953, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is a prominent politician who served as president of the Dominican Republic for three terms: 1996–2000, 2004–2012.
Fernández lived in New York City from 1962 before returning to the Dominican Republic in 1971. In 1978, he graduated with honors in law from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. Before entering politics, he worked as a teacher, journalist, and lawyer. As the presidential candidate of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Fernández won the second round of elections on June 30, 1996, after forming an alliance with the ruling Social Christian Reformist Party.
During his presidency, Fernández aimed to combat political corruption by increasing salaries for elected officials and planned closer oversight of the judiciary, police, and military. He also focused on attracting high-technology firms to broaden the country’s economic base and improve the nation’s image abroad.
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What country was he president of?
Leonel Fernández Reyna served as president of the Dominican Republic for three terms: 1996–2000, 2004–2012. He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on December 26, 1953, but lived in New York City from 1962 before returning to his home country in 1971. In 1978, he graduated with honors in law from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and later worked as a teacher, journalist, and lawyer before going into politics.
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When did Leonel Fernández serve as president?
Leonel Fernández Reyna served as president of the Dominican Republic for three terms:
- 1996–2000
- 2004–2012
During his presidency, Fernández vowed to end political corruption and attract high-technology firms to broaden the country’s economic base. Constitutionally barred from running for reelection in 2012, he was succeeded by Danilo Medina.
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What major changes or reforms happened during his presidency?
During his terms as president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández Reyna, who served in office from 1996-2000 and again from 2004-2012, initiated several significant changes. To combat political corruption, Fernández increased salaries for elected officials, planning closer oversight of the judiciary, police, and military. He also promised greater scrutiny of state-owned firms and reforms to strengthen manufacturing and agriculture.
In 1999, Fernández announced an initiative to broaden the country’s economic base by attracting high-technology firms to the Dominican Republic. Attempting to improve the nation’s image abroad, he restored diplomatic relations with Cuba in April 1998 and hosted a regional summit of Caribbean nations in August 1998.
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How did his leadership affect the Dominican Republic's economy or society?
During his terms as president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández Reyna, who served from 1996 to 2000 and again from 2004 to 2012, oversaw unprecedented rates of economic growth. In 1999, he launched an initiative aimed at broadening the country's economic base by attracting high-technology firms. Also, the growing economy helped to accelerate urbanization and increase the size of the middle class.
One of his first acts as president was to increase the salaries of elected officials, including his own, to end political corruption.
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What has Leonel Fernández done since leaving the presidency?
After leaving the presidency in 2012, Leonel Fernández became the honorary president of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development. He also served as president of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). In 2019, an internal power struggle within the PLD led to Fernández's departure from the party. In the 2020 national election, he ran as the presidential candidate for the Force of the People (Fuerza del Pueblo; FP) party, receiving nearly 9% of the vote.
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Leonel Fernández Reyna (born December 26, 1953, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a politician who served as president of the Dominican Republic (1996–2000; 2004–12).
Fernández lived in New York City beginning in 1962 and attended schools there. He returned to the Dominican Republic in 1971 and in 1978 graduated from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo with honours in law. He worked as a teacher and journalist and also practiced law before entering politics. The presidential candidate of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), he lost the first round of the elections to the mayor of Santo Domingo, José Francisco Peña Gómez, of the Dominican Revolutionary Party. After forming an alliance with the ruling Social Christian Reformist Party, however, Fernández won the second round, held on June 30, 1996, by a narrow margin. In what was a racially charged campaign, he had the support of both outgoing President Joaquín Balaguer and of Juan Bosch, founder of the PLD. The two put aside their differences to ensure that Fernández, who was of mixed race, would defeat Peña, who was of Haitian descent. At age 42, Fernández was the youngest person ever elected to the office.
Fernández vowed to end political corruption, and toward this end one of his first acts as president was to increase the salaries of elected officials, including his own. He maintained that public employees would be less inclined to accept bribes if they were properly paid. He also planned closer oversight of the judiciary, police, and military, and he promised greater scrutiny of state-owned firms and reforms to strengthen manufacturing and agriculture. In 1999 he announced an initiative to broaden the country’s economic base by attracting high-technology firms to the Dominican Republic. He attempted to improve the nation’s image abroad and in August 1998 served as host of a regional summit of Caribbean nations. In April 1998 he restored diplomatic relations with Cuba. Constitutionally barred from running for reelection, Fernández left office in 2000. In 2004 he was easily elected president, defeating President Hipólito Mejía Domínguez, whose Dominican Revolutionary Party had altered the constitution to allow the president to run for reelection. Fernández was reelected to a third term in 2008.
In 2011 Fernández was pressured by his partisans and political appointees to pursue removal of the constitutional statute that prevented him from running for a consecutive presidential term in 2012. Enactment of the necessary constitutional change and Fernández’s reelection looked to many observers like a foregone conclusion, given that the PLD held nearly two-thirds of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Nevertheless, Fernández opposed the change and instead seemed to be positioning himself for a run in 2016. In his place the PLD nominated party stalwart Danilo Medina, who was elected president in May 2012. Fernández’s wife, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, was elected vice president. After leaving office, Fernández became honorary president of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development. He was also president of the PLD.