Danilo Medina
Danilo Medina Sánchez (; born 10 November 1951) is a
Dominican politician who was
President of the Dominican Republic from 2012 to 2020.
Medina previously served as Chief of Staff to the President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 1999 and from 2004 to 2006, and is a member of the
Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). He won the
May 2012 Dominican presidential election, defeating
Hipòlito Mejía with 51% of the votes. On 15 May 2016, Danilo Medina leading a coalition of parties won the
2016 Dominican presidential election, defeating the leader of the opposition and
PRM candidate
Luis Abinader with 61.8% of the votes, the highest percentage received by a president elected in free elections since
1924 when
Horacio Vásquez won the presidency with 69.8% of the ballots—surpassing
Juan Bosch's record of 59.5% obtained in
1962, and
Leonel Fernández's 57.1% of the votes obtained in
2004.
Medina's second term has been characterized as humane, transparent and goal-driven by its supporters. With a penchant for performing weekly visits to impoverished rural sections of the country, President Medina finished his second term with a 65% approval rate. However, during his second term there were attempts to seek a third term which was frustrated after a call from the
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Medina's family, including two of his brothers, are currently being investigated under allegations of corruption, involving traffic of influence by which they benefited under Medina presidency, obtaining multiple contracts and business with the State. , the investigation process had entered a new phase following the arrests of two of Medina's brothers.
Provided by Wikipedia