President of the Dominican Republic

President of the Dominican Republic
Presidential Standard
File:Danilo Medina Sánchez.jpg Incumbent Danilo Medina since 16 August 2012
Style	His Exellency
Residence	National Palace, Santo Domingo
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	Pedro Santana
Formation	13 July 1844
Website	presidencia.gob.do

The President of the Dominican Republic is both the head of state and head of government of the Dominican Republic. The presidential system was established in 1844, following the proclamation of the republic. The President of the Dominican Republic receives the treatment of His Excellency during his time in office. His official address is the National Palace. Also, the position corresponds to the highest office in the country, the highest senior government official and the prominent political figure in the nation.

The current Constitution of the Dominican Republic (last amended in 2010) establishes the requirements, rights and obligations to be met by the President of the Republic.

Currently, the office can be held for a period of four years without immediate re-election. After at least one constitutional term, a person who has held the post of President before may run for this Office again. The change of command takes place every four years, on 16 August, which is the day of the Restoration of the Republic and therefore a national holiday.

The current President of the Dominican Republic is Leonel Fernández Reyna of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD) (Dominican Liberation Party), who is serving his second consecutive term since 2004 after being reelected for the period 2008–2012. He has held the presidency of the Dominican Republic on two other occasions, in the constitutional periods 1996–2000 and 2004–2008.

The next presidential elections took place on 20 May 2012, being elected Danilo Medina of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD) (Dominican Liberation Party), taking office on 16 August 2012.

List of official Presidents of the Dominican Republic (1844 – present)

#	Picture	Name	Began office	Left office	Title(s)
1		Pedro Santana	13 November 1844	4 August 1848	President
		Council of Secretaries of State	4 August 1848	8 September 1848	Council of Secretaries of State Members: Félix Mercenario Domingo de la Rocha José María Caminero Manuel Jimenes
2		Manuel Jiménes	8 September 1848	29 May 1849	President
3		Buenaventura Báez	29 May 1849	15 February 1853	President
4		Pedro Santana	15 February 1853	26 May 1856	President
5		Manuel de Regla Mota	26 May 1856	8 October 1856	President
6		Buenaventura Báez	8 October 1856	13 June 1858	President
7		José Desiderio Valverde	13 June 1858	28 July 1858	President
8		Pedro Santana	28 July 1858	18 March 1861	President
From 1861 until 1865, Dominican Republic was annexed by Spain.
9		Pedro Antonio Pimentel	25 March 1865	4 August 1865	President
		José María Cabral	4 August 1865	15 November 1865	Supreme Chief
		Pedro Guillermo	15 November 1865	8 December 1865	President of the Provisional Government Junta
10		Buenaventura Báez	8 December 1865	29 May 1866	President
		Triumvirate	29 May 1866	22 August 1866	Members: Pedro Antonio Pimentel Gregorio Luperón Federico de Jesús García
11		José María Cabral	22 August 1866	3 January 1868	President
12		Manuel Altagracia Cáceres	3 January 1868	13 February 1868	President
		Junta of Generals	13 February 1868	2 May 1868	Members: José Antonio Hungría Francisco Antonio Gómez Báez José Ramón Luciano y Franco
13		Buenaventura Báez	2 May 1868	2 January 1874	President
		Ignacio María González	2 January 1874	22 January 1874	Supreme Chief
		Generals-in-Chief	22 January 1874	6 April 1874	Members: Ignacio María González Manuel Altagracia Cáceres
14		Ignacio María González	6 April 1874	23 February 1876	President
		Council of Secretaries of State	23 February 1876	29 April 1876	Council of Secretaries of State Members: Pedro Tomás Garrido José de Jesús de Castro Pedro Pablo de Bonilla Juan Bautista Zafra Pablo López Villanueva Jacinto Peynado
15		Ulises Francisco Espaillat	29 April 1876	5 October 1876	President
		Superior Governing Junta	5 October 1876	11 November 1876	Members: Pablo López Villanueva José Caminero Matías Juan Esteban Ariza Matos Fidel Rodríguez Urdaneta José de Jesús Eduardo de Castro Álvarez Juan Bautista Zafra y Miranda Pedro Tomás Garrido Matos
		Ignacio María González	11 November 1876	9 December 1876	Supreme Chief
	File:Marcos Cabral.jpg	Marcos Antonio Cabral	9 December 1876	26 December 1876	President of the Provisional Government Junta
16		Buenaventura Báez	26 December 1876	2 March 1878	President
		Council of Secretaries of State	2 March 1878	5 March 1878	Council of Secretaries of State Members: José María Cabral Joaquín Montolío
17		Cesareo Guillermo	5 March 1878	6 July 1878	President
18		Ignacio María González	6 July 1878	2 September 1878	President
		People's Military Chiefs	2 September 1878	6 September 1878	People's Military Chiefs Members: Ulises Heureaux Cesáreo Guillermo
		Jacinto de Castro	7 September 1878	29 September 1878	Acting President
		Council of Secretaries of State	30 September 1878	27 February 1879	Council of Secretaries of State Members: Cesáreo Guillermo Alejandro Angulo Guridi Pedro Ramón Aristy
19		Cesáreo Guillermo	27 February 1879	6 December 1879	President
20		Gregorio Luperón	6 December 1879	1 September 1880	President
21		Fernando Arturo de Meriño	1 September 1880	1 September 1882	President
22		Ulises Heureaux	1 September 1882	1 September 1884	President
23		Francisco Gregorio Billini	1 September 1884	16 May 1885	President
24		Alejandro Woss y Gil	16 May 1885	6 January 1887	President
25		Ulises Heureaux	6 January 1887	27 February 1889	President
		Manuel María Gautier	27 February 1889	30 April 1889	Acting President
26		Ulises Heureaux	30 April 1889	26 July 1899	President
27		Juan Wanceslao Figuereo	26 July 1899	30 August 1899	President
		Council of Secretaries of State	30 August 1899	31 August 1899	Council of Secretaries of State Members: Tomás Demetrio Morales Arístides Patiño Enrique Henríquez y Alfau Jaime R. Vidal Braulio Álvarez
		People's Revolutionary Governing Junta	31 August 1899	4 September 1899	Council of Secretaries of State Members: Mariano Cestero Álvaro Logroño Arístides Patiño Pedro María Mejía
		Horacio Vásquez	4 September 1899	15 November 1899	President of the Provisional Government Junta
28		Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra	15 November 1899	2 May 1902	President
		Horacio Vásquez	2 May 1902	23 April 1903	President of the Provisional Government Junta
29		Alejandro Woss y Gil	23 April 1903	24 November 1903	President
30		Carlos Felipe Morales	24 November 1903	29 December 1905	President
		Council of Secretaries of State	25 December 1905	12 January 1906	Council of Secretaries of State (acting for Morales) Members: Manuel Lamarche García Emiliano Tejera Andrés Julio Montolío Francisco Leonte Vásquez Lajara Carlos Ginebra Eladio Victoria Federico Velásquez y Hernández
31		Ramón Cáceres	12 January 1906	19 November 1911	President
		Council of Secretaries of State	19 November 1911	5 December 1911	Council of Secretaries of State Members: Miguel Antonio Román José María Cabral Manuel de Jesús Troncoso de la Concha Federico Velásquez y Hernández Manuel Lamarche García Emilio Tejera Rafael Díaz
32		Eladio Victoria	5 December 1911	30 November 1912	President
		Adolfo Alejandro Nouel	30 November 1912	13 April 1913	Provisional President
		José Bordas Valdés	14 April 1913	27 August 1914	Provisional President
		Ramón Báez	28 August 1914	5 December 1914	Provisional President
33		Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra	5 December 1914	7 May 1916	President
		Council of Secretaries of State	7 May 1916	31 July 1916	Council of Secretaries of State Members: Jaime Mota Bernardo Pichardo José Manuel Jimenes Federico Velásquez y Hernández
34		Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal	31 July 1916	29 November 1916	President
From 1916 until 1924, Dominican Republic was occupied by the United States.
		Juan Bautista Vicini Burgos	21 October 1922	12 July 1924	Provisional President Note: Served under the United States occupation
35		Horacio Vásquez	12 July 1924	3 March 1930	President
		Rafael Estrella Ureña	3 March 1930	16 August 1930	Acting President
36	File:Rafael Trujillo.gif	Rafael Trujillo	16 August 1930	16 August 1938	President
37		Jacinto Peynado	16 August 1938	24 February 1940	President
38		Manuel de Jesús Troncoso de la Concha	24 February 1940	18 May 1942	President
39	File:Rafael Trujillo.gif	Rafael Trujillo	18 May 1942	16 August 1952 (Assassinated May 30, 1961)	President
40	File:Pes 631512.jpg	Héctor Trujillo	16 August 1952	3 August 1960	President
41		Joaquín Balaguer	3 August 1960	16 January 1962	President
		Civic-Military Council	16 January 1962	18 January 1962	Civic-Military Council Members: Armando Óscar Pacheco Luis Amiama Tió Antonio Imbert Barrera Enrique Valdez Vidaurre Wilfredo Medina Natalio Huberto Bogaert
42		Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly	18 January 1962	27 February 1963	President
43		Juan Bosch	27 February 1963	25 September 1963	President
		Víctor Elby Viñas Román	25 September 1963	26 September 1963	Chairman of the Provisional Junta
		Triumvirate	26 September 1963	25 April 1965	Members: Emilio de los Santos y Salcié (to 22 December 1963) (Chairman) Donald Reid Cabral (from 29 December 1963) (Chairman) Manuel Enrique Tavares Espaillat Ramón Tapia Espinal
		Revolutionary Committee	25 April 1965	25 April 1965	Members: Vinicio Fernández Pérez Giovanni Gutiérrez Ramírez Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó Eladio Ramírez Sánchez Pedro Bartolomé Benoit
		José Rafael Molina Ureña	25 April 1965	27 April 1965	Provisional President
		Pedro Bartolomé Benoit	1 May 1965	7 May 1965	Provisional President Note: Served under the United States occupation
44		Antonio Imbert Barrera	7 May 1965	30 August 1965	President Note: Served under the United States occupation
		Héctor García Godoy	3 September 1965	1 July 1966	Provisional President Note: Served under the United States occupation
45		Joaquín Balaguer	1 July 1966	16 August 1978	President
46		Antonio Guzmán Fernández	16 August 1978	4 July 1982	President
47		Jacobo Majluta Azar	4 July 1982	16 August 1982	President
48		Salvador Jorge Blanco	16 August 1982	16 August 1986	President
49		Joaquín Balaguer	16 August 1986	16 August 1996	President
50		Leonel Fernández	16 August 1996	16 August 2000	President
51		Hipólito Mejía	16 August 2000	16 August 2004	President
52		Leonel Fernández	16 August 2004	16 August 2012	President
53		Danilo Medina	16 August 2012	Incumbent	President

List of unofficial Presidents of the Dominican Republic

Supreme Chiefs or Protectors

• Pedro Santana (Supreme Chief of the Republic): 30 May – 23 September 1849
• Junior Mejia (Supreme Chief): 16 March – 5 December 1878

Spanish Governors-General of Santo Domingo (1861–1865)

• Pedro Santana: 18 March 1861 – 20 July 1862
• Felipe Ribero: 20 July 1862 – 22 October 1863
• Carlos de Vargas: 22 October 1863 – 30 March 1864
• José de la Gándara: 31 March 1864 – 11 July 1865

Heads of State of the Dominican Republic (1863–1865)

• José Antonio Salcedo: 14 September 1863 – 10 October 1864
• Gaspar Polanco: 10 October 1864 – 23 January 1865
• Generals-in-Chief (Pedro Antonio Pimentel, Benito Monción, Federico de Jesús García) : 23 January 1865 – 24 January 1865
• Benigno Filomeno de Rojas: 24 January 1865 – 24 March 1865

In rebellion (1867–1868)

• José Hungría: 22 December 1867 – 13 February 1868

Constitutional Executive Junta (in rebellion, February, 1876)

• Esteban Díaz
• Máximo Grullón
• Manuel de Jesús de Peña
• Alfredo Deetjen
• Isidro Pereyra

In rebellion (1878)

• Ignacio María González: 1 March 1878 – 3 May 1878

United States Governors of Santo Domingo (1916–1922)

• Harry Shepard Knapp: 29 November 1916 – 18 November 1918
• Ben Hebard Fuller: 18 November 1918 – 25 February 1919
• Thomas Snowden: 25 February 1919 – 3 June 1921
• Samuel Robison: 3 June 1921 – 21 October 1922

In rebellion (1963)

• Juan Casasnovas Garrido: 13 October 1963 – 4 November 1963

President with Constitutionalist de jure and de facto

• Francisco Caamaño: 4 May 1965 – 3 September 1965

See also

• Politics of the Dominican Republic
• List of Vice Presidents of the Dominican Republic