The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Dominican Republic

This page contains a list of the greatest Dominican Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 15 of which were born in Dominican Republic. This makes Dominican Republic the birth place of the 114th most number of Politicians behind Nicaragua, and Kuwait.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dominican Politicians of all time. This list of famous Dominican Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Dominican Politicians.

1. Rafael Trujillo (1891 - 1961)

With an HPI of 67.83, Rafael Trujillo is the most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 55 different languages on wikipedia.

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( troo-HEE-yoh, Spanish: [rafaˈel leˈoniðas tɾuˈxiʝo moˈlina]; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed El Jefe (Spanish: [el ˈxefe]), was a Dominican military commander and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He served as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952, ruling for the rest of his life as an unelected military strongman under figurehead presidents. His rule of 31 years, known to Dominicans as the Trujillo Era (Spanish: El Trujillato or La Era de Trujillo), was one of the longest for a non-royal leader in the world, and centered around a personality cult of the ruling family. It was also one of the most brutal; Trujillo's security forces, including the infamous SIM, were responsible for perhaps as many as 50,000 murders. These included between 4,000 and 6,000 Haitians in the infamous Parsley massacre in 1937, which continues to affect Dominican-Haitian relations to this day. During his long rule, the Trujillo government's extensive use of state terrorism was prolific even beyond national borders, including the attempted assassination of Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt in 1960, the abduction and disappearance in New York City of the Basque exile Jesús Galíndez in 1956, and the murder of Spanish writer José Almoina in Mexico, also in 1960. These acts, particularly the presumed murder of Galíndez, a naturalized US citizen, the attempted murder of Betancourt, a staunch critic of Trujillo, and the murder of the Mirabal sisters, who were among his most notable opponents, in 1960, eroded relations between the Dominican Republic and the international community and ushered in OAS sanctions and economic and military assistance to Dominican opposition forces. After this momentous year, large segments of the Dominican establishment, including the military, turned against him. On 30 May 1961, Trujillo was assassinated by a group of conspirators led by general Antonio Imbert Barrera. In the immediate aftermath, Trujillo's son Ramfis took temporary control of the country, executing most of the conspirators. By November 1961, the Trujillo family was pressured into exile by the titular president Joaquín Balaguer, who introduced reforms to open up the regime. The murder ushered in civil strife which concluded with the Dominican Civil War and a US-OAS intervention, eventually stabilised under a multi-party system in 1966. The Trujillo era unfolded in a Hispanic Caribbean environment particularly susceptible to dictators. In the countries of the Caribbean Basin alone, his dictatorship overlapped with those in Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela and Haiti. In perspective, the Trujillo dictatorship has been judged more prominent and more brutal than its contemporaries. Trujillo remains a polarizing figure in the Dominican Republic, as the sheer longevity of his rule makes a detached evaluation difficult. While his supporters credit him for bringing long-term stability, economic growth and prosperity, doubling life expectancy of average Dominicans and multiplying the GDP, critics denounce the heavy-handed and violent nature of his regime, including the murder of tens of thousands, and xenophobia towards Haitians, as well as the Trujillo family's nepotism, widespread corruption and looting of the country's natural and economic resources.

2. Joaquín Balaguer (1906 - 2002)

With an HPI of 58.39, Joaquín Balaguer is the 2nd most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo (1 September 1906 – 14 July 2002) was a Dominican politician, scholar, writer, and lawyer. He was President of the Dominican Republic serving three non-consecutive terms for that office from 1960 to 1962, 1966 to 1978, and 1986 to 1996. His enigmatic, secretive personality was inherited from the Trujillo era, as well as his desire to perpetuate himself in power through dubious elections and state terrorism, and he was considered to be a caudillo. His regime of terror claimed 11,000 victims who were either tortured or forcibly disappeared and killed. Nevertheless, Balaguer was also considered to be instrumental in the liberalization of the Dominican government, and his time as leader of the Dominican Republic saw major changes such as legalized political activities, surprise army promotions and demotions, promoting health and education improvements and instituting modest land reforms.

3. Juan Pablo Duarte (1813 - 1876)

With an HPI of 57.49, Juan Pablo Duarte is the 3rd most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez (January 26, 1813 – July 15, 1876) was a Dominican military leader, writer, activist, and nationalist politician who was the foremost of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic and bears the title of Father of the Nation. As one of the most celebrated figures in Dominican history, Duarte is considered a folk hero and revolutionary visionary in the modern Dominican Republic, who along with military generals Ramón Matías Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, organized and promoted La Trinitaria, a secret society that eventually led to the Dominican revolt and independence from Haitian rule in 1844 and the start of the Dominican War of Independence. Born into a middle-upper class family in 1813, his childhood was engulfed in several administrative changes in Santo Domingo. He was a toddler during the years of España Boba, which came to an end with the proclamation of José Núñez de Cáceres, who declared the first independence of Santo Domingo in 1821. Not long after this, Haitian president Jean-Pierre Boyer invaded the country, establishing a military occupation that would last for 22 years. This period was ravaged with economic and social repression. Duarte's desire for knowledge and his dreams of improvement led him to Europe, where he strengthened his liberal ideas. These ideas formulated the outline for establishing an independent Dominican state. Upon returning, he voluntarily dedicated himself to teaching in the streets, improvising a school in his father's business, determined that the people of his era assimilate his ideals of revolutionary enlightenment. In 1834, Duarte became an officer in the Haitian National Guard, rising to the rank of colonel. In 1843 he participated in the "Reformist Revolution" against Boyer in favor of Charles Rivière-Hérard. However, the new president issued a manhunt for Duarte, forcing him to flee the island. In the meantime, two of his most prominent followers, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella, continued the fight for independence, which had finally been achieved on February 27, 1844. Having returned in time to take part in the Dominican War of Independence, he was immediately acquired into the new government. As a member of the Central Governing Board, he originally rejected a proposal to take the presidency by his followers. On June 9, 1844, he launched the 18 Dominican Brumaire against said institution that would dismiss most of its members, becoming, after that, the first inspector general of the national troops. He would accept being proclaimed president by his supporters in the Cibao, which would earn him being declared "a traitor and unfaithful to the Homeland" and being expelled from the country by the then government presided over by the landowner Pedro Santana. Duarte lived in exile in Venezuela due to the political and military conflicts that existed in the Dominican Republic, which constituted a serious danger to his life. In Venezuela, he was received and welcomed making this land his second home. He maintained a relatively low profile in the Venezuelan jungle, moving from city to city, though he gradually emerged from recluse by the early 1860s. However, he returned to Caracas in 1862 to raise funds and return to the Dominican Republic upon learning of the annexation to Spain. By the time of the outbreak of the Dominican Restoration War, he returned to his homeland but the restoring Government of Dominican President José Antonio Salcedo asked him to return to Venezuela on a diplomatic mission as Plenipotentiary Minister to request the support of the Government of Venezuelan President Juan Crisóstomo Falcón to the cause of the restoration of Dominican Independence. Duarte, although not very much in agreement with the mission, returned to Caracas and fulfilled as much as possible. After completing his diplomatic mission, he stayed to live in this country where he died in Caracas on July 15, 1876.

4. Hatuey (1478 - 1512)

With an HPI of 57.26, Hatuey is the 4th most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Hatuey (), also Hatüey (; died 2 February 1512), was a Taíno Cacique (chief) of the Hispaniolan cacicazgo of Guanaba (in present-day La Gonave, Haiti). He lived from the late 15th until the early 16th century. Chief Hatuey and many of his tribesmen travelled from present-day La Gonave by canoe to Cuba to warn the Taíno in Cuba about the Spaniards that were arriving to conquer the island. He later attained legendary status for leading a group of natives in a fight against the invasion of the Spaniards, thus becoming one of the first fighters against Spanish colonialism in the New World. He is celebrated as "Cuba's first national hero."

5. Juan Bosch (1909 - 2001)

With an HPI of 55.68, Juan Bosch is the 5th most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Juan Emilio Bosch y Gaviño (30 June 1909 – 1 November 2001) was a Dominican politician, historian, writer, essayist, educator, and the first democratically elected president of the Dominican Republic for a brief time in 1963. Previously, he had been the leader of the Dominican opposition in exile to the dictatorial regime of Rafael Trujillo for over 25 years. To this day, he is remembered as an honest politician and regarded as one of the most prominent writers in Dominican literature. He founded both the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) in 1939 and the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) in 1973.

6. Danilo Medina (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 54.47, Danilo Medina is the 6th most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Danilo Medina Sánchez (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [daˈnilo meˈðina ˈsantʃes]; born 10 November 1951) is a Dominican politician who was President of the Dominican Republic from 2012 to 2020. Medina previously served as Chief of Staff to the President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 1999 and from 2004 to 2006, and is a member of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). He won the May 2012 Dominican presidential election, defeating Hipòlito Mejía with 51% of the votes. On 15 May 2016, Danilo Medina leading a coalition of parties won the 2016 Dominican presidential election, defeating the leader of the opposition and PRM candidate Luis Abinader with 61.8% of the votes, the highest percentage received by a president elected in free elections since 1924 when Horacio Vásquez won the presidency with 69.8% of the ballots—surpassing Juan Bosch's record of 59.5% obtained in 1962, and Leonel Fernández's 57.1% of the votes obtained in 2004. Medina's second term has been characterized as humane, transparent and goal-driven by its supporters. With a penchant for performing weekly visits to impoverished rural sections of the country, President Medina finished his second term with a 65% approval rate. However, during his second term there were attempts to seek a third term which was frustrated after a call from the US Department of State secretary Mike Pompeo. Medina's family, including two of his brothers, are currently being investigated under allegations of corruption, involving traffic of influence by which they benefited under Medina presidency, obtaining multiple contracts and business with the State. As of November 2020, the investigation process had entered a new phase following the arrests of two of Medina's brothers.

7. Leonel Fernández (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 53.46, Leonel Fernández is the 7th most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

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. 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 a former the President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (2018-2022) and a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.

8. Héctor Trujillo (1908 - 2002)

With an HPI of 52.22, Héctor Trujillo is the 8th most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Héctor Bienvenido "Negro" Trujillo Molina (6 April 1908 – 19 October 2002) was a Dominican general and political figure who was the President of the Dominican Republic between 1952 and 1960. He was the brother of former president and dictator Rafael Trujillo.

9. Luis Abinader (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 52.11, Luis Abinader is the 9th most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwis roˈðolfo aβinaˈðeɾ koˈɾona]; born 12 July 1967) is a Dominican economist, businessman, and politician who has served as the 54th president of the Dominican Republic since 2020. He was the Modern Revolutionary Party candidate for President of the Dominican Republic in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 general elections. Before becoming president, Abinader was the general manager of Grupo Abicor, a business consortium started by his father, José Rafael Abinader, a former senator and finance minister. Grupo Abicor includes a real estate and construction company focused mainly on the tourism industry, a cement factory, and a private university. As revealed by the Pandora Papers, Abinader also owns several offshore companies. Abinader was proclaimed as Latin America's richest president by Bloomberg Línea in 2022. Abinader was re-elected to a second term as president in the 2024 Dominican Republic general election. In his victory speech, Abinader said that the "changes that we've made are going to be irreversible", and that the "best is yet to come".

10. Salvador Jorge Blanco (1926 - 2010)

With an HPI of 51.26, Salvador Jorge Blanco is the 10th most famous Dominican Politician. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

José Salvador Omar Jorge Blanco (July 5, 1926 – December 26, 2010) was a politician, lawyer and a writer. He was President of the Dominican Republic, from 1982 to 1986. He was a Senator running for the PRD party. He started his political career as a Committee Secretary for the Unión Cívica de Santiago in 1963 and joined the PRD in 1964.

People

Pantheon has 16 people classified as Dominican politicians born between 1478 and 1967. Of these 16, 4 (25.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Dominican politicians include Danilo Medina, Leonel Fernández, and Luis Abinader. The most famous deceased Dominican politicians include Rafael Trujillo, Joaquín Balaguer, and Juan Pablo Duarte. As of April 2024, 1 new Dominican politicians have been added to Pantheon including Horacio Vásquez.