See also: President of the Dominican Republic.
Since independence in 1844, the Dominican Republic has counted 54 people in the presidential office, whether constitutional, provisional, or interim, divided into 66 periods of government. Likewise, there are also periods in which the head of state role has been exercised by collegiate bodies (such as triumvirates, military juntas, or councils of state).[1] [2]
See main article: First Dominican Republic.
The Central Government Junta was the first body of a collegiate and provisional nature to exercise the executive, legislative and judicial powers of the nascent Dominican state. It was provisionally constituted on 28 February 1844 and subsequently formalized on 1 March 1844; it went through two coups d'état, and finally dissolved with the proclamation of the first Constitution on 6 November 1844.
Portrait | Name | Term of office | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez | 28 February 1844 | 1 March 1844 | Interim president of the Central Government Junta. | ||||
Tomás Bobadilla | 1 March 1844 | 9 June 1844 | President of the Central Government Junta. Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez | 9 June 1844 | 12 July 1844 | President of the Central Government Junta. Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Pedro Santana | 12 July 1844 | 14 November 1844 | President of the Central Government Junta. |
Portrait | Name | Elected | Term of office | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
Pedro Santana | 1844 | 14 November 1844 | 4 August 1848 | Resigned. | |||
Manuel Jimenes | 1848 | 8 September 1848 | 29 May 1849 | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | |||
Pedro Santana | — | 30 May 1849 | 23 September 1849 | He held the title "Jefe Supremo" (meaning "Supreme Chief" or "Supreme Boss" in English). | |||
Santiago Espaillat | July 1849 | President-elect Espaillat never took office. | — | Espaillat was senator for Santiago when he was elected President by the electoral college, but he did not accept the office as he was afraid that his predecessor (Santana) would undermine his ability to govern. | |||
Buenaventura Báez | Aug. 1849 | 24 September 1849 | 15 February 1853 | ||||
Pedro Santana | 1853 | 15 February 1853 | 26 May 1856 | Resigned. | |||
Manuel de Regla Mota | — | 2 January 1855 | 5 September 1855 | Vice-president under Pedro Santana. Acting president. | |||
— | 26 May 1856 | 8 October 1856 | Vice-president under Pedro Santana, assumed the presidency after his resignation. Resigned. | ||||
Buenaventura Báez | — | 8 October 1856 | 12 June 1858 | Vice-president under Manuel de Regla Mota, assumed the presidency after his resignation. Resigned. | |||
José Desiderio Valverde | — | 7 July 1857 | 31 August 1858 | Self-appointed president in Santiago de los Caballeros. | |||
Pedro Santana | — | 13 June 1858 | 31 January 1859 | Approved the annexation of the country to Spain. | |||
1859 | 31 January 1859 | 18 March 1861 |
See main article: Spanish occupation of the Dominican Republic.
Portrait | Name | Term of office | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
Pedro Santana | 18 March 1861 | 20 July 1862 | Captain-General of Santo Domingo. Resigned. | |||
Felipe Ribero y Lemoine | 20 July 1862 | 22 October 1863 | Captain-General of Santo Domingo. | |||
23 October 1863 | 30 March 1864 | |||||
José de la Gándara y Navarro | 31 March 1864 | 11 July 1865 |
See main article: Dominican Restoration War.
Portrait | Name | Term of office | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
José Antonio Salcedo | 14 September 1863 | 10 October 1864 | |||||
Gaspar Polanco | 10 October 1864 | 24 January 1865 | |||||
Benigno Filomeno de Rojas | 24 January 1865 | 24 March 1865 | |||||
Pedro Antonio Pimentel | 25 March 1865 | 11 July 1865 | Spain concedes defeat and orders a withdraw from the island. |
See main article: Second Dominican Republic.
Portrait | Name | Elected | Term of office | Political party | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
Pedro Antonio Pimentel | — | 11 July 1865 | 4 August 1865 | — | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
José María Cabral | — | 4 August 1865 | 15 November 1865 | Blue | Cabral was proclaimed "Protector of the Republic" until the election of a new president by the National Convention. | ||||
Pedro Guillermo | — | 15 November 1865 | 8 December 1865 | — | Guillermo was appointed as Interim President until the arrival to the Dominican Republic of Buenaventura Báez, who was exiled in Curaçao. | ||||
Buenaventura Báez | 1865 | 8 December 1865 | 29 May 1866 | Red | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Triumvirate | — | 29 May 1866 | 22 August 1866 | — | Members: Pedro Antonio Pimentel, Gregorio Luperón, Federico de Jesús García. The Electoral College system was abolished and replaced by universal direct suffrage. | ||||
José María Cabral | — | 22 August 1866 | 29 September 1866 | Blue | Interim president. | ||||
1866 | 29 September 1866 | 31 January 1868 | Cabral was the first Dominican president elected by universal direct suffrage. Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||||
Manuel Altagracia Cáceres | — | 31 January 1868 | 13 February 1868 | — | |||||
Junta of Generals | — | 13 February 1868 | 2 May 1868 | — | Members: José Antonio Hungría, Francisco Antonio Gómez Báez, José Ramón Luciano y Franco. | ||||
Buenaventura Báez | 1868 | 2 May 1868 | 2 January 1874 | Red | Ousted from office by defeat in the Six Years' War. | ||||
Ignacio María González | — | 25 November 1873 | 21 January 1874 | Green | Supreme chief. | ||||
Ignacio María González Manuel Altagracia Cáceres | — | 21 January 1874 | 5 February 1874 | — | Generals in charge of the Supreme Power of the Nation. | ||||
Ignacio María González | 1874 | 5 February 1874 | 23 February 1876 | Green | Resigned. | ||||
Council of Secretaries of State | — | 23 February 1876 | 29 April 1876 | — | Members: Pedro Tomás Garrido Matos, José de Jesús Eduardo de Castro Álvarez, Pedro Pablo de Bonilla y Correa-Cruzado, Juan Bautista Zafra y Miranda, Pablo López Villanueva (until 7 March 1876), Jacinto Peynado y Tejón (since 7 March 1876). | ||||
Ulises Francisco Espaillat | 1876 | 29 April 1876 | 5 October 1876 | Blue | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Superior Governing Junta | — | 5 October 1876 | 11 November 1876 | — | Members: Pedro Tomás Garrido Matos, José de Jesús Eduardo de Castro Álvarez, Juan Bautista Zafra y Miranda, Pablo López Villanueva, José Caminero Matías, Fidel Rodríguez Urdaneta, Juan Esteban Ariza Matos. | ||||
Ignacio María González | — | 11 November 1876 | 9 December 1876 | Green | Resigned. | ||||
Marcos Antonio Cabral | — | 10 December 1876 | 26 December 1876 | — | President of the Provisional Government Junta. | ||||
Buenaventura Báez | — | 27 December 1876 | 2 March 1878 | Red | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Ignacio María González | — | 1 March 1878 | 3 May 1878 | Green | President of the Provisional Government of the National Movement. | ||||
Council of Secretaries of State | — | 2 March 1878 | 5 March 1878 | — | Members: José María Cabral, Joaquín Montolío. | ||||
Cesáreo Guillermo | — | 5 March 1878 | 6 July 1878 | Red | Interim president. | ||||
Ignacio María González | 1878 | 6 July 1878 | 2 September 1878 | Green | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Superior Leaders of the Revolutionary Movement | — | 2 September 1878 | 6 September 1878 | — | Members: Ulises Heureaux, Cesáreo Guillermo. | ||||
Jacinto de Castro | — | 7 September 1878 | 29 September 1878 | — | President of the Supreme Court of Justice. Resigned. | ||||
Council of Secretaries of State | — | 30 September 1878 | 27 February 1879 | — | Members: Cesáreo Guillermo, Alejandro Angulo Guridi, Pedro María Aristy. | ||||
Cesáreo Guillermo | 1879 | 27 February 1879 | 6 December 1879 | Red | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Gregorio Luperón | — | 6 October 1879 | 1 September 1880 | Blue | |||||
Fernando Arturo de Meriño | 1880 | 1 September 1880 | 1 September 1882 | years | Blue | ||||
Ulises Heureaux | 1882 | 1 September 1882 | 1 September 1884 | years | Blue | ||||
Francisco Gregorio Billini | 1884 | 1 September 1884 | 16 May 1885 | Blue | Resigned. | ||||
Alejandro Woss y Gil | — | 16 May 1885 | 6 January 1887 | Blue | Vice-president under Francisco Gregorio Billini, assumed the presidency after his resignation. | ||||
Ulises Heureaux | 1886 | 6 January 1887 | 27 February 1889 | Blue | |||||
1888 | 27 February 1889 | 27 February 1893 | |||||||
1892 | 27 February 1893 | 27 February 1897 | |||||||
1896 | 27 February 1897 | 26 July 1899 | Assassinated. | ||||||
Wenceslao Figuereo | — | 26 July 1899 | 30 August 1899 | Blue | Vice-president under Ulises Heureaux, assumed the presidency after his assassination. Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Council of Secretaries of State | — | 31 August 1899 | — | 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 | — | Members: Mariano Cestero, Álvaro Logroño, Arístides Patiño, Pedro María Mejía. | ||||
Horacio Vásquez | — | 4 September 1899 | 15 November 1899 | Red | Interim president. | ||||
Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra | 1899 | 15 November 1899 | 2 May 1902 | Blue | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Horacio Vásquez | — | 26 April 1902 | 23 April 1903 | Red | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||
Alejandro Woss y Gil | — | 23 March 1903 | 1 August 1903 | Blue | Interim president. | ||||
1903 | 1 August 1903 | 24 November 1903 | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | ||||||
Carlos Felipe Morales | — | 24 November 1903 | 17 June 1904 | Red | Interim president. | ||||
1904 | 17 June 1904 | 24 December 1905 | Resigned. | ||||||
Council of Secretaries of State | — | 24 December 1905 | 29 December 1905 | — | Members: Manuel Lamarche García, Emiliano Tejera, Andrés Julio Montolío, Francisco Leonte Vásquez Lajara, Carlos Ginebra, Eladio Victoria, Federico Velásquez y Hernández. | ||||
Ramón Cáceres | — | 29 December 1905 | 1 July 1908 | Red | Vice-president under Carlos Felipe Morales, assumed the presidency after his resignation. | ||||
1908 | 1 July 1908 | 19 November 1911 | Assassinated at the start of the 1911–1912 Civil War. | ||||||
Council of Secretaries of State | — | 19 November 1911 | 5 December 1911 | — | Members: Miguel Antonio Román, José María Cabral. | ||||
Eladio Victoria | — | 5 December 1911 | 27 February 1912 | — | Interim president appointed by the Congress. | ||||
1912 | 27 February 1912 | 30 November 1912 | Resigned at the end of the 1911–1912 Civil War. | ||||||
Adolfo Alejandro Nouel | — | 1 December 1912 | 13 April 1913 | — | Archbishop of Santo Domingo, interim president appointed by the Congress. Resigned. | ||||
José Bordas Valdez | — | 14 April 1913 | 15 June 1914 | — | Interim president appointed by the Congress. | ||||
June 1914 | 15 June 1914 | 27 August 1914 | Resigned at the end of the 1914 Civil War. | ||||||
Ramón Báez | — | 28 August 1914 | 5 December 1914 | — | Interim president. | ||||
Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra | Oct. 1914 | 6 December 1914 | 4 May 1916 | Blue |
See main article: United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924).
Portrait | Name | Term of office | Political party | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra | 4 May 1916 | 7 May 1916 | Blue | Resigned due to the United States occupation. | ||||
Council of Secretaries of State | 7 May 1916 | 31 July 1916 | — | Members: Jaime Mota, Bernardo Pichardo, Federico Velásquez y Hernández. | ||||
Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal | 31 July 1916 | 29 November 1916 | — | Interim president appointed by the Congress. Removed by the United States. | ||||
Vacant (29 November 1916 – 21 October 1922) | ||||||||
Juan Bautista Vicini Burgos | 21 October 1922 | 12 July 1924 | — | Interim president. |
See main article: Third Dominican Republic.
Portrait | Name | Elected | Term of office | Political party | Notes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
Horacio Vásquez | 1924 | 12 July 1924 | 3 March 1930 | Red | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | |||||
Rafael Estrella Ureña | — | 3 March 1930 | 16 August 1930 | Republican | Minister of Interior and Police under Horacio Vásquez, assumed the presidency after coup d'état. | |||||
Rafael Trujillo | 1930 | 16 August 1930 | 16 August 1934 | years | Confederation of Parties | |||||
1934 | 16 August 1934 | 16 August 1938 | PD | |||||||
Jacinto Peynado | 1938 | 16 August 1938 | 7 March 1940 | PD | Died in office. | |||||
Manuel de Jesús Troncoso | — | 7 March 1940 | 18 May 1942 | PD | Vice-president under Jacinto Peynado, assumed the presidency after his death. | |||||
Rafael Trujillo | 1942 | 18 May 1942 | 16 August 1947 | PD | Finished the presidential term of Jacinto Peynado ending on 16 August 1942. | |||||
1947 | 16 August 1947 | 16 August 1952 | ||||||||
Héctor Trujillo | — | 1 March 1951 | 1 October 1951 | PD | Acting president. | |||||
1952 | 16 August 1952 | 16 August 1957 | ||||||||
1957 | 16 August 1957 | 3 August 1960 | Resigned. | |||||||
Joaquín Balaguer | — | 3 August 1960 | 31 December 1961 | PD | Vice-president under Héctor Trujillo, assumed the presidency after his resignation. Resigned. | |||||
Council of State under President Joaquín Balaguer | — | 1 January 1962 | 16 January 1962 | — | Members: Joaquín Balaguer (President), Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly (Vice-president), Eduardo Read Barreras (Second Vice-president), Eliseo Pérez Sánchez, Nicolás Pichardo, Luis Amiama Tió, Antonio Imbert Barrera. Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | |||||
Civic-Military Junta under President Huberto Bogaert | — | 16 January 1962 | 18 January 1962 | Military | Members: Huberto Bogaert (President), Armando Óscar Pacheco, Luis Amiama Tió, Antonio Imbert Barrera, Enrique Valdez Vidaurre, Wilfredo Medina Natalio, Neit Rafael Nivar Seijas. | |||||
Council of State under President Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly | — | 18 January 1962 | 27 February 1963 | — | Members: Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly (President), Eduardo Read Barreras, Eliseo Pérez Sánchez, Nicolás Pichardo, Luis Amiama Tió, Antonio Imbert Barrera, Donald Reid Cabral. | |||||
Juan Bosch | 1962 | 27 February 1963 | 25 September 1963 | PRD | Ousted from office by a coup d'état. | |||||
Víctor Elby Viñas Román | — | 25 September 1963 | 26 September 1963 | Military | President of the Provisional Government Junta. | |||||
Triumvirate under President Emilio de los Santos | — | 26 September 1963 | 23 December 1963 | Military | Members: Emilio de los Santos (President), Manuel Enrique Tavares Espaillat, Ramón Tapia Espinal. | |||||
Triumvirate under President Donald Reid Cabral | — | 23 December 1963 | 25 April 1965 | Military | Members: Donald Reid Cabral (President), Ramón Tapia Espinal (resigned on 8 April 1964), Ramón Cáceres Troncoso (since 8 April 1964), Manuel Enrique Tavares Espaillat (resigned on 27 June 1964). Deposed during the Dominican Civil War. |
See main article: Dominican Civil War.
Portrait | Name | Term of office | Faction | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
Revolutionary Committee | 25 April 1965 | — | Members: Vinicio Fernández Pérez, Giovanni Gutiérrez Ramírez, Francisco Caamaño, Eladio Ramírez Sánchez, Pedro Bartolomé Benoit. | |||
José Rafael Molina Ureña | 25 April 1965 | 27 April 1965 | Constitutionalist | Resigned. | ||
Vacant (27 April 1965 – 4 May 1965) | ||||||
Francisco Caamaño | 4 May 1965 | 3 September 1965 | Constitutionalist |