LAC
Luis Abinader Corona
Dominican Republic
President
Description
Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona was born on July 12, 1967. He is married to Raquel Arbaje and is the father of three daughters: Esther Patricia, Graciela Lucía, and Adriana Margarita. He is the son of businessman and political leader José Rafael Abinader W. and Rosa Sula Corona C. He completed his high school studies at Colegio Loyola and earned a degree in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC). He pursued postgraduate studies in Project Management at the Arthur D. Little Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also completed courses in Corporate Finance and Financial Engineering at Harvard University, and in Advanced Management at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In the 2005 national convention, he was elected Vice President of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). He served as Executive President of Grupo ABICOR, a company that developed major tourism projects in the country. This family group also led the business initiative that became Cementos Santo Domingo, where he serves as Vice President. He has been president of the Association of Hotels of Sosúa and Cabarete and is a member of the Board of Directors of both the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (ASONAHORES) and the O&M University Foundation. He was recognized by the State Congress of Rhode Island, USA, for his public, educational, and business career. He also received honors from the City of Boston and the Massachusetts State Senate for his contributions to higher education, civic engagement, and community service. He was a candidate for Vice President of the Republic with the Dominican Revolutionary Party in the 2012 presidential elections. On April 26, 2015, he was elected presidential candidate of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) during its internal convention, receiving more than 70% of the votes — a result acknowledged from the very first report by the other candidates. He built a presidential project that brought together the entire opposition and a broad segment of society ahead of the May 2016 elections. Despite running under highly adverse conditions — leading a party barely a year and a half old, and facing an incumbent president with full access to state resources — Abinader secured more than 35% of the vote in the May 15, 2016 elections, positioning the PRM as the second-largest political force in the Dominican Republic. In 2019, he was once again chosen as his party’s presidential candidate and went on to become President-Elect of the Dominican Republic in the extraordinary presidential elections held on July 5, 2020. He took office as Constitutional President of the Dominican Republic on August 16, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing his efforts on saving lives, securing vaccines, and reviving an economy that had come to a standstill. These efforts led the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to recognize the Dominican Republic as the number one country in the world in tourism recovery, and the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly congratulated the President and his government for their response to the pandemic. His economic leadership led Moody’s credit rating agency to upgrade the Dominican Republic’s outlook from “Ba3 stable” to “Ba3 positive.” Likewise, S&P Global raised the country’s credit rating from “BB-” to “BB,” citing economic growth and sound fiscal management. According to the FAO, the hunger rate dropped from 8.3% in 2018 to 6.7% in 2021, thanks to a significant increase in food production. Upon taking office, he appointed an independent and impartial Attorney General’s Office — capable of prosecuting corruption and crime under any circumstance, and without regard to political affiliation, economic status, or social standing. On October 13, 2023, he announced his intention to run for re-election in the 2024–2028 presidential term, as allowed by the Constitution, and to participate in the PRM’s internal primary elections. He won the primaries on October 1 with over 90% of the vote. On May 19, 2024, he was re-elected President of the Republic with more than 57% of the vote, securing a new mandate until 2028. In this second term (2024–2028), President Abinader has reaffirmed his commitment to institutional transparency, citizen security, energy transition, and digital transformation. Under his leadership, the country has made major strides in urban mobility, access to drinking water, strengthening the national power grid, protecting the environment, and supporting the middle class. The Dominican Republic has also gained international recognition for attracting foreign investment, increasing women’s participation in the labor market, and leading the region’s post-pandemic economic recovery. On August 16, 2024, President Abinader submitted a constitutional reform that was enacted on October 27 of the same year. The reform reaffirmed the country’s democratic commitment by safeguarding presidential term limits and strengthening the independence of the Attorney General’s Office. Key changes included a non-reelection clause for the sitting president, transferring the power to appoint the Attorney General and their deputies to the National Council of the Magistracy, and the unification of national elections starting in 2032. The reform also reduced the number of congressional deputies as part of a broader vision for institutional efficiency. During the official proclamation of the new Constitution, the President emphasized that it represents the soul of the Dominican people — a pact of justice, peace, and stability for future generations.
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