Women in Politics

First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández

First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández is the wife of the current president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez. She has a Juris Doctorate from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and a Masters Degree in Economic Legislation from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM). After years of work in the Dominican Republic’s private sector, she now actively participates in the creation and promotion of her husband’s social policies, particularly in the areas of health and education. 

Milagros Bosch

Born in 1936, she dedicated herself to politics from a very young age, heavily influenced by her uncle, Juan Bosch, who was the first president to be democratically elected after the death of dictator Rafael Trujillo. She served as the Dominican Republic’s first female vice-president from 2000-2004 alongside President Hipolito Mejia. Bosch possesses a business degree, a law degree and a post-graduate degree in political science.

Minerva, Patria and Antonia Mirabal

The three Mirabal sisters fervently fought against the undemocratic and destructive regime of Rafael Trujillo. Minerva was particularly passionate about ending Trujillo’s power. She studied law in order to wage a more educated fight against him, and when the time came to receive her degree, Trujillo denied it to her. Together with her sisters, Minerva formed the Movement of the Fourteenth of June and became known as "Las Mariposas" ("the butterflies.") The sisters, and their husbands were incarcerated and tortured on various occasions, they were tragically murdered by Trujillo’s thugs on November 25, 1960. Their murder sparked immense public outrage and horror, which eventually led to Trujillo’s own assassination six months later. Their bravery and martyrdom for Dominican democracy continues to be celebrated throughout the country, and a fourth sister, Dede Mirabal, preserves their memory through a museum dedicated to their lives and their fight.