Francisco del Rosario Sánchez (March 9, 1817 – July 4, 1861) was a politician, national hero and founding father of the Dominican Republic. He is considered by Dominicans as the second leader of the 1844 Dominican War of Independence, after Juan Pablo Duarte and before Matías Ramón Mella. The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella is named in honor of these men.