List of presidents of the Dominican Republic

The President of the Dominican Republic is both the head of state and head of government of the Dominican Republic. This page contains a list (modified from Moya Pons) of presidents of the Dominican Republic.

President of the Dominican Republic
Presidential Standard
Incumbent Luis Abinader since 16 August 2020
Style	His Excellency
Residence	National Palace, Santo Domingo
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	Pedro Santana
Formation	13 November 1844
Website	presidencia.gob.do

First Republic, 1844–1861

• Pedro Santana: 13 November 1844 – 4 August 1848
• Council of Secretaries of State: 4 August – 8 September 1848
• Manuel Jimenes: 8 September 1848 – 29 May 1849
• Pedro Santana: 30 May – 23 September 1849
• Buenaventura Báez: 24 September 1849 – 15 February 1853
• Pedro Santana: 15 February 1853 – 26 May 1856
• Manuel de Regla Mota: 26 May – 8 October 1856
• Buenaventura Báez: 8 October 1856 – 13 June 1858
• José Desiderio Valverde: 13 June – 28 July 1858
• Pedro Santana: 28 July 1858 – 18 March 1861

Annexation to Spain (Governors), 1861–1865

• Pedro Santana: 18 March 1861 – 20 July 1862
• Felipe Ribero y Lemoine: 20 July 1862 – 22 October 1863
• Carlos de Vargas y Cerveto: 22 October 1863 – 30 March 1864
• José de la Gándara y Navarro: 31 March 1864 – 11 July 1865

Restauration War, 1863–1865

• José Antonio Salcedo: 14 September 1863 – 10 October 1864
• Gaspar Polanco: 10 October 1864 – 23 January 1865
• Benigno Filomeno de Rojas: 24 January – 24 March 1865

Second Republic, 1865–1916

• Pedro Antonio Pimentel: 25 March – 4 August 1865
• José María Cabral: 4 August – 15 November 1865
• Pedro Guillermo: 15 November – 8 December 1865
• Buenaventura Báez: 8 December 1865 – 29 May 1866
• Triumvirate: 29 May – 22 August 1866
• José María Cabral: 22 August 1866 – 31 January 1868
• Manuel Altagracia Cáceres: 31 January – 13 February 1868
• Council of Generals: 13 February – 2 May 1868
• Buenaventura Báez: 2 May 1868 – 2 January 1874
• Ignacio María González: 2 January – 22 January 1874
• Generals-in-Charge:: 22 January – 6 April 1874
• Ignacio María González: 6 April 1874 – 23 February 1876
• Council of Secretaries of State: 23 February – 29 April 1876
• Ulises Francisco Espaillat: 29 April – 5 October 1876
• Governing Council: 5 October – 11 November 1876
• Ignacio María González: 11 November – 9 December 1876
• Marcos Antonio Cabral: 10 – 26 December 1876
• Buenaventura Báez: 26 December 1876 – 2 March 1878
• Cesáreo Guillermo: 5 March – 6 July 1878
• Ignacio María González: 6 July – 2 September 1878
• Jacinto de Castro: 7 – 29 September 1878
• Council of Secretaries of State: 30 September 1878 – 27 February 1879
• Cesáreo Guillermo: 27 February – 6 December 1879
• Gregorio Luperón: 6 December 1879 – 1 September 1880
• Fernando Arturo de Meriño: 1 September 1880 – 1 September 1882
• Ulises Heureaux: 1 September 1882 – 1 September 1884
• Francisco Gregorio Billini: 1 September 1884 – 16 May 1885
• Alejandro Woss y Gil: 16 May 1885 – 6 January 1887
• Ulises Heureaux: 6 January 1887 – 26 July 1899
• Wenceslao Figuereo: 26 July – 30 August 1899
• Horacio Vásquez: 4 September – 15 November 1899
• Juan Isidro Jimenes: 15 November 1899 – 2 May 1902
• Horacio Vásquez: 26 April 1902 – 23 April 1903
• Alejandro Woss y Gil: 23 April – 24 November 1903
• Carlos F. Morales Languasco: 24 October 1903 – 12 January 1906
• Ramón Cáceres: 12 January 1906 – 19 November 1911
• Eladio Victoria: 5 December 1911 – 30 November 1912
• Adolfo Alejandro Nouel: 1 December 1912 – 13 April 1913
• José Bordas Valdés: 14 April 1913 – 27 August 1914
• Ramón Báez: 28 August – 5 December 1914
• Juan Isidro Jimenes: 5 December 1914 – 7 May 1916
• Council of Secretaries of State: 7 May – 31 July 1916
• Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal: 31 July – 29 November 1916

U.S. occupation (Military Governors), 1916–1922

• Harry Shepard Knapp: 29 November 1916 – 18 November 1918
• Ben Hebard Fuller: 18 November 1918 – 25 February 1919
• Thomas Snowden: 25 February 1919 – 3 June 1921
• Samuel Robison: 3 June 1921 – 21 October 1922

Third Republic, 1922–1965

	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)		Elected	Term of office			Political party	Notes
					Took office	Left office	Time in office
		Horacio Vásquez (1860–1936)		1924	12 July 1924	3 March 1930	5 years, 234 days	Red	Ousted from office by a coup d'état.
			Rafael Estrella Ureña (1889–1945)	—	3 March 1930	16 August 1930	166 days	Republican	Minister of Interior and Police under Horacio Vásquez, assumed the presidency after coup d'état. Puppet president of Rafael Trujillo.
			Rafael Trujillo (1891–1961)	1930	16 August 1930	16 August 1934	8 years	Confederation of Parties
				1934	16 August 1934	16 August 1938		PD
			Jacinto Peynado (1878–1940)	1938	16 August 1938	7 March 1940	1 year, 204 days	PD	Died in office. Puppet president of Rafael Trujillo.
			Manuel de Jesús Troncoso (1878–1955)	—	7 March 1940	18 May 1942	2 years, 72 days	PD	Vice-president under Jacinto Peynado, assumed the presidency after his death. Puppet president of Rafael Trujillo.
			Rafael Trujillo (1891–1961)	1942	18 May 1942	16 August 1947	10 years, 90 days	PD	Finished the presidential term of Jacinto Peynado ending on 16 August 1942.
				1947	16 August 1947	16 August 1952
			Héctor Trujillo (1908–2002)	—	1 March 1951	1 October 1951	9 years, 155 days	PD	Acting president.
				1952	16 August 1952	16 August 1957			Puppet president of Rafael Trujillo.
				1957	16 August 1957	3 August 1960			Resigned. Puppet president of Rafael Trujillo.
			Joaquín Balaguer (1906–2002)	—	3 August 1960	31 December 1961	1 year, 150 days	PD	Vice-president under Héctor Trujillo, assumed the presidency after his resignation. Puppet president of Rafael Trujillo until the assassination of Trujillo on 30 May 1961. Resigned.
		Council of State		—	1 January 1962	16 January 1962	1 year, 15 days	—	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		—	16 January 1962	18 January 1962	2 days	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		—	18 January 1962	27 February 1963	1 year, 40 days	—	Members: Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly (President), Eduardo Read Barreras, Eliseo Pérez Sánchez, Nicolás Pichardo, Luis Amiama Tió, Antonio Imbert Barrera, Donald Reid Cabral.
		Juan Bosch (1909–2001)		1962	27 February 1963	25 September 1963	210 days	PRD	Ousted from office by a coup d'état.
		Víctor Elby Viñas Román (1925–2004)		—	25 September 1963	26 September 1963	1 day	Military	President of the Provisional Government Junta.
		Triumvirate		—	26 September 1963	23 December 1963	88 days	Military	Members: Emilio de los Santos (President), Manuel Enrique Tavares Espaillat, Ramón Tapia Espinal.
		Triumvirate		—	23 December 1963	25 April 1965	1 year, 123 days	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.

Fourth Republic, 1966-present

	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party	Notes
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
		Joaquín Balaguer (1906–2002)	1966	1 July 1966	16 August 1970	12 years, 46 days	PRSC
			1970	16 August 1970	16 August 1974
			1974	16 August 1974	16 August 1978
		Antonio Guzmán Fernández (1911–1982)	1978	16 August 1978	4 July 1982	3 years, 322 days	PRD	Committed suicide.
		Jacobo Majluta Azar (1934–1996)	—	4 July 1982	16 August 1982	43 days	PRD	Vice-president under Antonio Guzmán, assumed the presidency after his suicide.
		Salvador Jorge Blanco (1926–2010)	1982	16 August 1982	16 August 1986	4 years	PRD
		Joaquín Balaguer (1906–2002)	1986	16 August 1986	16 August 1990	10 years	PRSC
			1990	16 August 1990	16 August 1994
			1994	16 August 1994	16 August 1996			After fraud charges in the elections, an agreement known as the Pact for Democracy (Pacto por la Democracia) was reached, which shortened the presidential term to two years.
		Leonel Fernández (born 1953)	1996	16 August 1996	16 August 2000	4 years	PLD
		Hipólito Mejía (born 1941)	2000	16 August 2000	16 August 2004	4 years	PRD
		Leonel Fernández (born 1953)	2004	16 August 2004	16 August 2008	8 years	PLD
			2008	16 August 2008	16 August 2012
		Danilo Medina (born 1951)	2012	16 August 2012	16 August 2016	12 years, 69 days	PLD
			2016	16 August 2016	16 August 2020
		Luis Abinader (born 1967)	2020	16 August 2020	Incumbent	4 years	PRM