page_title: Leonel Fernández
section_title: Second presidential term (2004–2008)
hierarchical_section_title: Leonel Fernández / Second presidential term (2004–2008)
caption_attribution_description: President Bush Welcomes President Fernandez of the Dominican Republic to the White House President George W. Bush meets with President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic in the Oval Office Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006. White House photo by Eric Draper
context_page_description: Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna is a Dominican lawyer, academic, and was President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012. Since January 2016, he is the President of the EU–LAC Foundation.
  Fernández became the first elected president of the Dominican Republic under his political party, the Dominican Liberation Party, although party founder Juan Bosch was also sworn in as president in 1963 after the first democratic elections held in roughly four decades in the country. Fernández's administrations have focused much on technological and infrastructural development and macroeconomic and monetary stability.
  He is a native of Villa Juana, Distrito Nacional and lived for much of his childhood and early adulthood in New York City.
  Leonel Fernández is the President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations and a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.
context_section_description: Fernández was elected to a second term of office in the presidential election held on 16 May 2004 with an absolute majority and the second highest percentage ever in Dominican history of 57%. He was sworn in on 16 August 2004. His victory was due in large part to the collapse of the Dominican economy. This collapse has been attributed to skyrocketing oil prices and a slumping international economy post-9/11, excessive borrowing under the Mejía administration and the failure of three banks in the country: Banco Intercontinental (Baninter), Bancrédito and Banco Mercantil. In an effort to avoid further economic chaos, the Mejía administration effectively underwrote all three banks, repaying their customers but generating even greater public debt. Some of the bankers involved have been or are on trial, yet the extent of their fraud is hard to measure as their widespread largess with officials within both the Fernández and Mejía administrations has made it nearly impossible to achieve a true accounting of what conditions led to the bank's demise.
  According to local sociologist José Oviedo, "The country trusts him with the economy, but he doesn't seem to pay that much attention to social issues." The economic prosperity which his government prided itself on seemed to fail in reaching enough people. According to The Wall Street Journal, the economy situation worsened during his last term.
  Fernández received World Peace Culture Award on 6 April 2008.
caption: George W. Bush welcomes Fernandez to the White House
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