President Leonel Fernandez was born on 26^th December 1953 in Santo Domingo. He is José Antonio Fernandez Collabo (former official of the Armed Forces, director of the Dominican Harbor Authority and General Consul in Panama deceased in November 2002) and Yolanda Reyna Romero’s son.

He and his family moved to the United-States (New-York) when he was a child. Thus, it is where he received primary and secondary education. He concluded his secondary education in Louis D. Brandeis Higt School, located in Upper West Side of Manhattan.  

 

When he returned to the Dominican Republic, he went to the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD). In these days, he was influenced by progressive ideas which opened the door to political debate and which led him quite quickly to study the work of the one who would become his intellectual guide: Juan Bosch. Moreover, he would join him and his group of followers which would become in 1973 the Dominican Liberation Party.

 

During the first years at University, he took part in the student movement of the 1970s, in which he held on the job of secretary-general of the students’ association of the Faculty of juridical and political sciences. Indeed, he took an active part in the protests of that time.

In 1978, President Fernandez was given the title of Juris Doctor with honours, winning the “J. Humberto Doucudray” award for being the best student of his class.

 

His thesis, “El delito de opinión pública, papel de la ideología en el derecho de la información” (“Public opinion offense, the role of ideology in the right of information”), enriched the national bibliography in such a complex and new subject matter.

 

President Fernandez has written several other books such as: “Los Estados Unidos en el Caribe, de la Guerra fría al Plan Reagan” (“The United States in the Caribbean: From the Cold War to the Reagan Plan”) and “Raices de un poder usurpado” (“Roots of an Usurped Power”). Besides, he collaborated with several local and foreign newspapers on subjects related to communication, culture, history and law.

His increasing influence in intellectual circles by means of conferences, journalistic works and debates led him progressively to become more important with his party. Thus, he occupied positions of great political responsibility: he became a member of the central committee in 1985 and of the political committee in 1990. Within the Dominican Liberation Party, he filled the post of Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Press Secretary, and additionally was Editor in Chief of the magazine “Política, Teoría y Acción” (“Politics, Theory and Action”).

 

Eager reader, he is recognized as one of the most lucid academicians and professionals of his generation. His prestige is due as well to his solid educational background as to his great talent as a public speaker and his good command of English and French languages.

 

In the course of his professional life, President Fernandez has been recognized as an excellent lecturer of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and the Latin-American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), particularly in the fields of communication sociology, rights of the press and international relations.

His political and personal trajectory led President Leonel Fernandez to be chosen by the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) in 1994 as candidate for the vice-presidency of the Dominican Republic with Professor Juan Bosh candidate for the country’s presidency. Later, the party’s mainstay chose him as candidate for the presidency for the 1996 election which he won after a vibrant political campaign to become the first Head of State to come out of the PLD and one of the youngest statesmen of Latin-America.

 

Since 16th August 1996 when he took control of the government, President Leonel Fernandez has established a dynamic and aggressive foreign policy which has progressively got the country out of its traditional isolation and placed it at the heart of regional integration processes, market opening and globalization. President Fernandez has participated actively in international forums including the United Nations General Assembly, Ibero-American and Central American Summits of Chief of States and Governments and the Summit of the Americas.

 

Moreover, Fernandez made several official visits to friendly countries, among which it is important to highlight the first official visit by a Dominican president to Europe (France and Italy in 1999), to Japan and Singapore (in 2000), and the first one, after the era of the Dictator Trujillo, by a Dominican Chief of State to its neighbour country, Haiti. His government has strengthened relations with CARICOM and Central American nations, and the country was integrated into the Río group and ACP Nations, for which he was elected president in 2000. The Free Trade Agreement with CARICOM and Central American Nations was drawn up during his presidential term.  

 

As for internal affairs, President Fernandez reoriented public expenditure towards social spending, favouring education and public health. Convinced that the development of communication and information technology represents the most powerful moving force for the progress of any modern nation, Fernandez has concentrated special efforts towards equipping all national public high schools with computer labs. He instituted nationwide a monthly-awarded prize to honour roll students, promoted culture and reading with reading competitions, the so-called Reading Olympics. Lastly, the “Feria Internacional de Libro de Santo Domingo” (“International Book Fair of Santo Domingo”) has remained an important cultural event.

 

Economically, Fernandez’s administration set up programs for the creation of jobs, providing financial support for micro, small, and medium-size businesses, erecting new industrial free zones, and setting an active strategy to attract foreign capital through the Investment Promotion Office, created at Fernandez’s initiative. The Cybernetic Park, a high-technology free zone, and the Technological Institute of the Americas were also created by Fernandez. During the four-year office term of Leonel Fernandez, the Dominican Republic exhibited a commendable macroeconomic performance and became one of the countries of the world with the highest growth rate: a nearing 8% annual average in the first government.

  Causa                     Honoris Causa                Honoris Causa               rbonne University          Harvard                            Seton Hall                             Panama

The aggregate of such components of the country’s exceptional economic development during the first administration of Fernandez won him the name of the “milagro dominicano” (“Dominican Miracle”).

 

The government led by Leonel Fernandez executed a program of reforms and institutional modernisation of the country. Government offices were equipped with computers, and the foundations for the regularization of the civil service and administrative career were laid down. Public services were enhanced and provided with swiftness and transparency.

On the other hand, Fernandez administration was able to bring to decent standards and organize the traditionally chaotic and ineffective urban public transportation, as well as bequeath valuable public works in the urban and rural road structure.

His initiative to hold a National Dialogue with the participation of all national sectors not only enabled a participative search for solutions to the leading challenges faced by the Dominican Republic and the creation of a consensual agenda for the nation’s future, but also was observed with much interest by other nations interested in promoting new democratic participation modes.

Finally, Leonel Fernandez administration has been recognized locally and internationally for the strict respect of public liberties and human rights, as well as the notable impetus to the economic growth with macroeconomic stability and democratic institutionalism in Dominican Republic.

The most relevant speeches delivered by Leonel Fernández during the presidential campaign and while in office are compiled in the following volumes: Discursos I y II; Temas de Campaña I y II, La República Dominicana Hacia el Nuevo Siglo, “Ningún Gobierno Había Hecho Tanto,” La Globalización y la República Dominicana; Hablando la Gente se Entiende, and Leonel: Visión del Futuro.”

After leaving office in 2000, Fernández continues to contribute to the development of the Dominican Republic and the Latin American region as president of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, a non-profit institution established by him with the intent to analyze vital subjects to the nation and its international context, prepare innovative proposals of a strategic nature, design public policies, enhance the quality of the national debate, and promote the training of local human resources. The foundation does and hosts research, conferences, seminars, workshops and training in the field of democratic institutionalism and the Rule of Law and Legal Equity; economic development; social development and education; the environment and natural resources; science and technology; public opinion and mass media; globalization, regional integration, and foreign relations.

In January 2002, Leonel Fernandez became elected, almost unanimously, president of the Dominican Liberation Party.

                                               

On 16^th May 2004, Leonel Antonio Fernandez Reyna won with 57.1% of the votes. Thus, in August 2004, he started his second four-year term of office as constitutional president of the Dominican Republic.

Dr. Fernández became in the May 2008 the official PLD candidate for the presidency and he gained the elections, defeating six others candidates, including PRD's candidate and former president Hipolito Mejía's right-hand man, Miguel Vargas Maldonado, and PRSC's candidate, Amable Aristy Castro.

President Fernández defeated Vargas Maldonado 53 % to 40 %.  This allows Leonel fernández a second consecutive term, and a third term overall.  President Fernández was sworn in for his term on 16 August 2008.

The personal website of the Dr. Leonel Fernandez is www.leonelfernandez.com