Leonel Fernández

See also: Fernández

Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna (Santo Domingo, December 26th 1953) is a politician of the Dominican Republic, spent several years to the United States, New York.

He exercised a first presidential mandate between 1996 and 2000. He was re-elected the May 16th 2004 and lent oath the August 16th 2004.

S.E. Leonel Fernandez, President Constitutionnel of the Dominican Republic. Married to Mrs. Margarita Cedeño, the first lady. He is now president of the Party of the Dominican Release (PLD) and chair Total Foundation Democracy and Development.

President Fernandez is member of several international institution and boards of directors such: The Circle of Montevideo (since 1996); The Council of the freely elected heads of government, the center Casing (since 1997); Spanish foreign affairs (since 2000); The inter-American dialog and the Club of Madrid (since 2001).

Moreover, since 2000, it chairs the Club of the Etats executives - Linked - the Caribbean, organized and guaranteed by the center of the strategic studies and international of Washington (CSIS). Lastly, in 2002 it was named president of the association of the United Nations of the Dominican Republic.

In 1999, prestigious universities the such University of the Sorbonne (Paris) and the University Harvard (Boston) decree each one to him an Honorary Doctorate. Then in 2000, Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña decrees one of them to him, as well as the University of Setton Hall (New Jersey).

President Leonel Fernandez was born on December 26th, 1953 in Saint-Domingue. He is the son of Jose Antonio Fernandez Collabo and Yolanda Reyna Romero.

He and its family is moved in the United States (New York) whereas he was still child. It is thus over there that it made its primary and secondary studies.

On its return to the country, it enters to the autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD). At this time, President Fernandez is attracted by the ideas plus progressists who open the door with the political debate and which rather quickly carry out it to study the work of that which will be its Master and guides: professor Juan Bosch. It will join besides to him and its group of partisans who will found in 1973 the Party of the Dominican Release.

During its first years at the university, it belongs to the studied movement of the decade of the Seventies, in which it occupies the position of secretary general of the association of the students of the Faculty of legal sciences and policies of the UASD, having taken share actively with the claims of the time.

In 1978, President Fernandez obtains the title of Doctor in right with all the honors, which is worth the price to him “J. Humberto Doucudray”, to have been the student one being best distinguished from his promotion.

Its thesis, “El delito of opinion publica” is thus an important contribution at the national library in this complex and new field.

President Fernandez wrote several other books of which: Los Estados Unidos in el Caribe, Of Guerra plane fria Al Reagan and Raices of a poder usurpado. Moreover he collaborated in several national and foreign newspapers on subjects connected to the communications, the culture, the history and the right.

Its increasing influence in the intellectual circles through conferences, journalistic work and debates carried out President Fernandez in a progressive way towards a rise within its party. Thus it occupied of the positions of great political responsibility: he was member of the Central committee in 1985 then political Committee in 1990. With the PLD (Left the Dominican Release) he was Secrétaire of the international Businesses and Press and Directeur of the Review Politica, Teoria there Accion.

Avid reader, it is recognized like one of the academicians and the most lucid professionals of his generation. Its prestige is just as easily due to its solid formation which has its gifts of speaker or who with the foreign languages which it has a perfect command of, are English and French.

During his professional life, President Fernandez is recognized like an excellent professor of Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo and Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), in particular in sociology of the communication, right of press and international relations.

Its political and personal trajectory led President Leonel Fernandez to be selected by the Party of the Dominican Release (PLD) in 1994 like candidate with the vice-presidency of the Dominican Republic with professor Juan Bosch as president. Later, bases of its selected party one like candidate with the presidency for the elections of 1996. Which it carried after a vibrating electoral campaign, for finally becoming the first Head of State to emerge from the PLD and one of young people of the Latin America.

Since it holds the reins of government, on August 16th, 1996, President Leonel Fernandez undertook a dynamic and aggressive foreign policy which left the country its traditional insulation and placed it in the center even of the processes of regional integration, openings of markets and globalisation. President Fernandez took share actively with international forums like the General meeting of the United Nations, at the Latino-américains tops and of Central America of the Heads of States and governments like in the summit meeting of Americas.

He moreover paid several official visits with friendly countries, between which it should be stressed the first to be carried out by a Dominican agent in Europe (France and Italy in 1999), in Japan and Singapore in 2000; and the first official visit since the era of the Trujillo dictator of a Head of Dominican State in his adjoining country, Haiti. Its government reinforced the Dominican bonds with the countries belonging to the CARICOM and the Central America. Mr Fernandez was integrated within the group of Rio and the countries of the ACP STATE (Country of Africa, of the Caribbean and the Pacific), which named president for the year 2000. It is besides under its mandate that was elaborate the Commercial Treaty Free with the countries of the CARICOM and the Central America.

On the internal plan, President Fernandez reorientated the public expenditure towards the social costs, privileging education and the public health. Convinced that the development of the communication and information technology represents the most powerful engine with the progress of a modern nation, Mr. Fernandez devoted many efforts to equip all the secondary public schools with the country with laboratories with data processing. He founded a programme of attribution of price to the students méritoires, which are decreed monthly and this, at the national level. He made the promotion of the reading and the culture by founding competitions called: Las Olimpiadas of will lectura in order to encourage the young people. Lastly, under its government, “Feria Internacional de Libro de Santo Domingo” (equivalent with the living room of the book) is remained an important cultural event.

On the economic plan, the government of President Fernandez started various programs of creation of employment by giving financial supports to the microphone, small and medium-size companies, by building new industrial parks free zone (net of tax) and by setting up an active strategy to attract foreign assets by the means of the “Office for Promotions of the Investments and Exports”, public agency created by President Fernandez. Under its direction were founded the Cybernetic Park, free zone (net of tax) of high technology as well as the Technological Institute of Americas. During the years of its mandate, the Dominican Republic showed an admirable macro-economic performance and became one of the countries of the world having growth rate more raised, with an annual average from almost 8%, in its first government.

The whole of the components of the extraordinary economic development of the country during the first administration of President Leonel Fernandez was worth to him the name of “milagro dominicano”. (Dominican Miracle)

The government of President Fernandez carried out a reform program and of institutional modernization of the State. The governmental offices were equipped with computers. Bases were established in order to regularize the civil service and the administrative career. The public services were largely improved and equipped with flexibility and transparency.

In addition, the administration of President Fernandez succeeded in putting order and reorganizing the urban transport system, traditionally chaotic and ineffective. At the same time, several major improvements were made for pedestrians and motorists, as well on the roads of provinces as in the Capital.

The initiative of President Fernandez to carry out a National dialog with the participation of all the sectors of the country did not only lead to a participative search for solutions to the main challenges which the Dominican Republic meets and to create a diary in agreement with all the parts as for the future of the nation; this initiative was also observed with much interest by other interested nations to promote novel modes of democratic participation.

Lastly, the administration of President Leonel Fernandez was recognized, at the national and international level, for the respect of public freedoms and the human rights, like for its notable dash with the economic growth with a macroeconomic stability and democratization of the institutions of the Dominican Republic.

The most important speeches made by President Leonel Fernandez during the presidential electoral campaign and during the exercise of its mandate are gathered in volumes “Discursos I there II, Temas de Campaña I there II, Repùblica Hacia el Nuevo Siglo, Ningùn Gobierno Habìa Hecho Tanto, Globalizacìon there Repùblica Dominicana, Hablando Gente Entiende, and Leonel: Visiòn de Futuro”.

After having finished its presidential mandate in 2000, President Fernandez continuous to contribute to the contribution and the development of the Dominican Republic and Latin-American area as a president of the Total Foundation Democracy and Development, an institution with nonlucrative goal of which he is the founder. The principal goal of this foundation is to study the vital subjects for the country and its international context, to work out innovating proposals for a strategic nature, to design public policies, to raise the quality of the national debate and to promote the formation of national human resources. The foundation carries out investigations, conferences, seminars, workshops and laboratories of practical drive in fields such as: democratic institution and Rule of law, economic development, social development and education, environment and natural resources, science and technology, public opinion and means of communication, globalisation, regional integration and foreign relations.

In the month of January 2002, President Leonel Fernandez was elected, quasi unanimously, President of the Party of the Dominican Release.

May 16th, 2004, Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna, gained with 57,1% of the voices and in August 2004, it begins its second four years mandate like chair constitutional of the Dominican Republic.

See too

List of the current leaders

== == Sources: Total Fundación Democracia there Desarrollo and Consulate-general from the Dominican Republic in Marseilles == ==

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