Former president of Dominican Republic, and Honorary President of GFDD and FUNGLODE, to speak at Yale University

Dr. Leonel Fernández, who was president of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012,  and who serves as honorary president of sister non-profits GFDD and FUNGLODE, will visit Yale University as a Chubb Fellow on Tuesday, April 9.

His talk — entitled “In the 21st Century: Does Latin America Matter?” — will take place at 4:30 p.m. in Rm. 127 of
Yale Law School, 127 Wall St. The event is free and open to the public and will be broadcast live on the Yale YouTube channel.

A lawyer and an academic, Fernández became the first elected president of the Dominican Republic in 1996 under
the political party he established, the Dominican Liberation Party — referred to in Spanish as “Partido de la Liberación Dominicana” (PLD).

During his presidency, Fernández instituted dynamic and aggressive policies that reinserted the Dominican Republic into the international sphere, and brought the country out of its traditional isolation, thus beginning processes of regional integration, open
markets, and globalization.

Fernández has been awarded honorary degrees from several prestigious universities. The author of numerous books, he is a contributing member of the Spanish edition of Foreign Affairs, and he has collaborated with various international newspapers regarding issues of communication, culture, history, and law.

The Chubb Fellowship is one of the highest honors accorded to a visiting speaker. The fellowship is administered by the
master of Timothy Dwight College, Jeffrey Brenzel ’75. Since 1949, Chubb Fellows have included former U.S. presidents, numerous heads of state, and prominent public figures in government, industry, and the arts.