Dra. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández
Margarita Cedeño Fernandez is the first Dominican lawyer, who assumes duties as a First Lady. She was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She received a Doctor in Laws, Cum Laude, in 1987 from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. She received a Master Magna Cum Laude in Business Law and Economic Law from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in 1995.
She has performed studies related laws and international negotiations and conflict resolution at the universities of Georgetown, Harvard University and Geneva, the first two in the United States and the third in Switzerland. On her labor process, she has experience in the private sector, which was part of prestigious offices of lawyers from the Dominican Republic such as those of Dr. Abel Rodriguez del Orbe and Fernandez and Associates, which is a member partner and founder.
During the years 1996-2000, she served as legal adviser of the President in the position of Assistant Secretary of State. In addition, she was honorary adviser and director of the Legal Management and Investment Climate of the Office for the Promotion of Foreign Investment in the Dominican Republic. She is married to Dr. Leonel Antonio Fernandez Reyna, current president of the Dominican Republic. Both have procreated Yolanda Maria Fernandez Cedeño America. Dr. Cedeño Fernandez is also the mother of two teenagers, Ramon Emil and Gabriela Angelissa Fiorentino. Dr. Cedeño Fernandez officially took over as First Lady of the Dominican Republic on August 16, 2004, when her husband, Dr. Fernandez Reyna, was sworn in again as President Constitutional now for the period 2004-2008.
She is the daughter of the spouses Luis Matos and Margarita Cedeño Emilio Lizardo of Cedeño, who also procreated Luis Alfredo. She has five other parenting sisters. Since assuming her duties as First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeño Fernandez defined the family as the core of their work, in search of the integral development of this core social impact through actions within the Progressing programs, Community Technology Centers, Network of Public Libraries and Social Solidarity. For her outstanding performances and results, the management of Dr. Cedeño has been highlighted at both national and international levels, being the First Lady object of recognition for her hard work and sustained in favor of the most vulnerable segments of the population in his country.
In those recognitions, there are the American Health Organization, which distinguished herself with the appointment of "Continental Ambassador for the Elimination of Rubella in the Western Hemisphere," recognition granted in the 27th Pan American Sanitary Conference, in 2007 in Washington DC, United States, given due to her great interest and support for initiatives in the field of health, especially vaccination campaigns which took place in the national territory.
In 2007, the First Lady received a UIT Award for Telecommunications and Information Society, "for her contribution to ensure that technologies are available to residents of poorest areas in the Dominican Republic, which work between the objectives of the UIT to promote the construction of the information society. Several programs that are developed from her office she has achieved awards and recognition both outside the Dominican Republic, as the "Progressing", which won the Award for Quality and Promising Practices issued by the National Office of Administration and Personnel, the "Baby, think well", which won first place in the competition organized by the World Change Reality Works, in September 2007 and the "Women on the Web", which was recently selected by Cisco Networking Academy in Latin America and the Caribbean as the best, as part of the Campaign for Gender in Latin America and the Caribbean 2007.
Source: University Programs and Events Planning Resources, September 2008