Dr Leonel Fernandez Reyna

His Excellency, Dr. Leonel Fernández Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic, is a lawyer from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), the first University of the Americas. Dr. Fernández was a professor at the Dominican State University where he lectured law journalism, history and sociology of the communications as well as international relations.

In 1996, Dr. Fernandez was elected President of the Dominican Republic for the period 1996-2000. In 2002, he became president of the Dominican Liberation Party and in 2004, he was reelected for a second mandate. As President, he developed a dynamic Foreign Affairs policy to rescue Dominican Republic from its traditional isolation. In this context, he participated in international forums, such as the United Nation General Assembly, Iberoamerican Summits, Centro American Summits and the Americas Summit.

He also reinforced the Dominican relations with the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Central America Common Market. He also actively reinforced the relations with the Rio Group and the countries of the ACP (Countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific). Under his mandate, the Country signed a Free Trade Agreement with the countries of CARICOM and Central America. On the national scene, he reoriented public investment towards the social sector and privileged education and public health.

Parallel to its political activities, Dr. Fernandez has also maintained a very active academic and professional life. He is author of several books and he received many Doctorates degree Honoris Causa.