[ Ver en Español ]

Margarita Cedeño de Fernández is the first lawyer to occupy the role of First Lady in the Dominican Republic. Born in Santo Domingo, she received her Doctorate in Law degree (cum laude) in 1987 from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. She was granted her master’s (magna cum laude) in Corporate Law and Economic Legislation from the Pontifical Catholic University in 1995.

She has studied in the areas of negotiation, international law and conflict resolution at the universities of Georgetown, Harvard and Geneva, the first two in the USA and the third in Switzerland. In regards to employment, she has worked in the private sector at prestigious law firms in the Dominican Republic, most notably that of Abel Rodríguez del Orbe and Fernández y Asociados, of which she is a partner and founding member.

From 1996-2000, she acted as legal advisor to the President of the Republic with the position of Under Secretary of State, as well as being an ad honorem consultant and director of the legal Management and Investment Climate Board of the Office for the Promotion of Foreign Investment of the Dominican Republic.

She is married to Dr. Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna, the current President of the Dominican Republic. They have one daughter, Yolanda América María Fernández Cedeño. Dr. Cedeño de Fernández is also the mother of two teenage children, Ramón Emil and Gabriela Angelissa Fiorentino. She is the daughter of Luis Emilio Cedeño Matos and Margarita Lizardo de Cedeño, and sister of Luis Alfredo. She has five other paternal sisters.

She was officialy named First Lady of the Dominican Republic on 16 August 2004, when her husband, Dr. Fernández Reyna, was sworn in for a second term as a President for the period 2004-2008; he was then re-elected in 2008. As First Lady, Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández continues to pursue her commitment to the most vulnerable sectors of her country's population, working steadfastly to reduce poverty, improve education, close the digital gap and improve the living conditions of families in the Dominican Republic, all within a framework of fairness, solidarity and social justice.

The Office of the First Lady, charged with supporting the social work of the Fernández government, is unfailingly committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, directing her actions primarily to the safeguarding of the family, particularly focusing on women, children and youngsters.

Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández has implemented four major programs: Progresando, which involves more than 140,000 families around the country; Community Technological Centers, with 64 centers distributed among Dominican Republic’s rural communities; Solidaridad Social, a series of support initiatives for those who need it most, and Leyendo Aprendo, a program that promotes integration through literacy training programs for communities aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality, environmental sustainability and combating HIV AIDS and other illnesses, seeking to gather the support of public and private institutions, both national and international, so that everyone can have access to education. These programs receive technical support from the Special Projects Unit, which is responsible for raising funds and implementing the infrastructure projects that are developed.

The First Lady’s work with these four programs has generated significant results that benefit the neediest sectors of the population of the Dominican Republic – results that have earned appraisal both nationally and internationally.

A number of the programs that she runs from her Office have received awards and recognition from inside and outside the Dominican Republic. Among them is the Progresando program, which obtained the “Award for Quality and Promising Practices” from the National Office of Administration and Personnel (ONAP) and Bebé Piénsalo Bien, a teen pregnancy prevention program. In September 2007, she won first place in the “Change the World” competition organized by Reality Works, and her “Women on the Net” program, which trains women in network technology, won the top award from the Cisco Networking Academy of Latin America and the Caribbean within the framework of the Gender Campaign in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2007.

In September 2007, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) honored Dr. Cedeño de Fernández by appointing her Continental Ambassador for the Elimination of Rubella on the American Continent at the 27th Pan-American Sanitary Conference in Washington DC in recognition of her support for the goverment's initiatives in the are of health care, particularly the vaccination campaigns that were conducted throughout the country.

That same year she received the World Information Society Award 2007 from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), for her contribution to ensuring that telecom technologies are available to the inhabitants of the poorest neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic. She also received an important recognition from the Senate of the Dominican Republic for the work she has done from her Office.

Furthermore, on 27 November 2008, the First Lady received an Honorary Doctorate from the University Centre of Brasilia – UNICEUB for her exceptional track record in the sphere of social work. That same year she was granted the Cultural Personality 2008 award by the Ministry of Culture for her work in the cultural and educational training of children and teenagers. In a ceremony organized by the Azua Foundation for Development and Peace, she was the first First Lady to be named Humanist and Caring Woman of 2007, the highest award granted by the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

In 2009, the First Lady was honored by the Italian Embassy with the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, receiving the highest rank of Grand Officer, for her efforts in fostering partnerships with Italy and her continuous willingness to assist the Italian community in the Dominican Republic. In that same year, Dr Margarita Cedeño de Fernández was named Honorary President of the 40th National Congress of Pediatrics for her work in support of children’s health and family wellness. She was also honored in July 2009 by IDECOOP for her contributions to the co‐operative sector.

She was named “Woman of the Year”  by the Latin Pride National Awards, reserved for significant figures in Latin America, and was designated as Extraordinary Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). She recently received the Gold Medal of the Government of Italy, having been chosen by unanimous vote by the Scientific Committee of the Pio Manzù International Research Center.