{"id":467793,"date":"2025-05-11T12:52:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T16:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/raquel-pena-biography-of-the-third-woman-to-hold-the-vice-presidency-of-the-dominican-republic\/"},"modified":"2025-05-11T12:52:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T16:52:06","slug":"raquel-pena-biography-of-the-third-woman-to-hold-the-vice-presidency-of-the-dominican-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/history\/biographies\/raquel-pena-biography-of-the-third-woman-to-hold-the-vice-presidency-of-the-dominican-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"Raquel Pe\u00f1a: Biography of the third woman to hold the Vice Presidency of the Dominican Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Raquel Pe\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong> (born on September 10, 1966<\/strong> in Santiago de los Caballeros<\/strong>) is a Dominican business administrator, academic, and politician, current Vice President of the Dominican Republic<\/a><\/strong> since August 16, 2020<\/strong>, being the third woman in the country’s history<\/strong> to hold this high government position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Origin and academic background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Daughter of the renowned tobacco businessman Leocadio Pe\u00f1a Guill\u00e9n<\/strong> and Estela Rodr\u00edguez de Pe\u00f1a<\/strong>, Raquel Pe\u00f1a completed her primary studies at the Sacred Heart of Jesus School<\/strong> and continued her secondary education at the De La Salle School<\/strong>, both in her hometown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently, he entered the Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM)<\/a><\/strong>, where he obtained a degree in Business Administration<\/strong>, in addition to undertaking specialized studies in education, business, finance, entrepreneurship, and innovation<\/strong>. In 2002, he obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA)<\/strong> with a double degree<\/strong> between PUCMM and the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal life of Raquel Pe\u00f1a<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1987<\/strong>, she married Marco Jos\u00e9 Antu\u00f1a Cabral<\/strong> (deceased), with whom she had three children: Rosa Estela<\/strong> (lawyer), Marco Jos\u00e9<\/strong> (industrial engineer), and Isabel Amelia<\/strong> (marketer).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Raquel
Raquel Pe\u00f1a junto a su familia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Professional career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Raquel Pe\u00f1a has developed an academic career since the year 2000 at PUCMM, where she was vice-rector of administration<\/strong> until March 2020. Her experience in the educational field made her an influential figure within university education in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entry to Politics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On March 10, 2020<\/strong>, the then presidential candidate of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM)<\/strong>, Luis Abinader<\/strong>, publicly announced Raquel Pe\u00f1a as his running mate for the general elections<\/strong> of that year. Her designation was considered a surprise and a strategic move, highlighting her technical, professional profile and without prior party affiliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Raquel Pe\u00f1a<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vice Presidency of the Republic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following Abinader’s victory in the July 5, 2020 elections, Raquel Pe\u00f1a assumed the Vice Presidency on August 16, 2020<\/strong>. Since then, she has played an active role in the management of the government’s social policy<\/strong> and was appointed as coordinator of the Health Cabinet amid the COVID-19<\/strong> pandemic, leading key actions such as the implementation of the national vaccination plan<\/strong> and the supervision of public hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legacy and Leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Raquel Pe\u00f1a has been recognized for her technical profile, management capacity, and commitment to transparency and human development<\/strong>. She is seen as a key figure within the current government and has paved the way for female political participation in high institutional positions in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Biographical File: Raquel Pe\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Full name:<\/strong>
Raquel Pe\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date of birth:<\/strong>
September 10, 1966<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Place of birth:<\/strong>
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Profession:<\/strong>
Administrator, academic, and politician<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current Position:<\/strong>
Vice President of the Dominican Republic (since August 16, 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic background:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration \u2013 Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • MBA (double degree) \u2013 PUCMM and University of Quebec, Montreal, Canada (2002)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Specialized studies in Education, Finance, Business, Entrepreneurship and Innovation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Training in Business Incubators (national and international)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Professional experience:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Vice President of Administration of PUCMM (until March 2020)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • University professor since 2000<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Coordinator of the Health Cabinet during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Supervisor of social policies of the government<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Political affiliation:<\/strong>
      Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Date of entry into politics:<\/strong>
      March 2020 (announced as Luis Abinader’s running mate)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Marital status:<\/strong>
      Widow of Marco Jos\u00e9 Antu\u00f1a Cabral<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Children:<\/strong>
      Rosa Estela (lawyer), Marco Jos\u00e9 (industrial engineer), Isabel Amelia (marketer)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Raquel Pe\u00f1a Rodr\u00edguez (born on September 10, 1966 in Santiago de los Caballeros) is a Dominican business administrator, academic, and politician, current Vice President of the Dominican Republic since August 16, 2020, being the third woman in the country’s history to hold this high government position. Origin and academic background Daughter of the renowned tobacco […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":467794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[16047],"tags":[1830,40423],"class_list":["post-467793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-biographies","tag-raquel-pena","tag-vice-presidency"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-1XH3","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Raquel-Pena-web.jpg","dum_api":{"author_name":"Redacci\u00f3n De \u00daltimo Minuto","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-logo-de-ultimo-minuto-96x96.png","categories_name":["Biographies"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Raquel-Pena-web.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}