Luis Abinader

Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona (born 12 July 1967) is a Dominican economist, businessman, and politician who is serving as the 54th and current President of the Dominican Republic. He served as the Modern Revolutionary Party candidate for President of the Dominican Republic in the 2016 and 2020 general elections.
Early life.
Abinader was born in Santo Domingo on 12 July 1967. His parents are from the Cibao region, his mother is Rosa Sula Corona Caba, a white Dominican of Spanish Canarian colonial lineage from the province of La Vega. His father is the businessman and political leader José Rafael Abinader, a Dominican of Lebanese origin and a native of the Santiago Province. His paternal grandfather was José S. Abinader, a Lebanese immigrant from Baskinta, Mount Lebanon, who arrived to the country in 1898 and settled in the town of Tamboril (located near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros).
Abinader did his secondary education at the Colegio Loyola (), now Instituto Politécnico Loyola; He graduated in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (). He did postgraduate studies in Project Management at Hult International Business School (at the time named Arthur D. Little Institute) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also studied Corporate Finance and Financial Engineering at Harvard University and Advanced Management at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
Career.
He was elected vice president of the Dominican Revolutionary Party in its 2005 National Convention.
He is currently Executive Chairman of ABICOR Group, which has developed and operated major tourism projects in the country. This family group led the business plan of what is today the company Cementos Santo Domingo, of which he is Vice President.
He has been president of the Association of Hotels in the Puerto Plata area and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants (ASONAHORES).
He is member of the Board of Directors of the O&M University's Foundation.
He was recognized by the Rhode Island General Assembly for his career in public service, education, and business. He also received acknowledgments from the City Hall of Boston and the Massachusetts Senate for his contributions to higher education, civic engagement, and community service.
Abinader was the vice-presidential candidate of the Dominican Revolutionary Party in the 2012 election and in 2005 was pre-candidate for senator from the province of Santo Domingo.
2016 presidential election.
He was the presidential candidate of the Dominican Humanist Party and the Modern Revolutionary Party for the past general elections on 15 May 2016.
Abinader was, along with Soraya Aquino, one of the two presidential candidates in 2016 who had not been born during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). Giuliani Partners, specifically Rudy Giuliani and John Huvane, advised Abinader in the campaign as security consultants.
2020 presidential election.
Abinader successfully ran for President in the 2020 election. Rudy Giuliani and John Huvane once again advised Abinader in the campaign as security consultants.
Abinader is the first Dominican President to have been born after the Trujillo dictatorship; and the second of Lebanese descent, the first being Jacobo Majluta who briefly held office in 1982.
President of the Dominican Republic.
Abinader was sworn in as the President of the Dominican Republic on 16 August 2020.
The inauguration had a reduced number of guests due to the measures taken for the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the international guests was the Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, who attended on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Foreign relations.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was among those in attendance at Abinader's swearing-in ceremony. Under Luis Abinader's leadership, the Dominican Republic is set to form stronger economic and diplomatic ties with the United States. Under his administration, the Dominican Republic became one of the countries that, along with the US, voted to maintain the arms embargo on Iran.
Personal life.
Abinader is married to Raquel Arbaje Soni, the daughter of businesspersons Elías Arbaje Farah and Margarita Soni, both of Lebanese descent. They have three children: Esther Patricia, Graciela Lucía, and Adriana Margarita.
In June 2020 he announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
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