Alma McLaughlin, known in the Dominican Republic as Alma McLaughlin Simó de Trujillo and in the United States as Alma McLaughlin Trujillo, (5 August 1921 – 13 February 2018) was a Dominican public figure and wife of former President

Héctor Trujillo Héctor Bienvenido "Negro" Trujillo Molina (6 April 1908 – 19 October 2002) was a Dominican general and political figure who was the President of the Dominican Republic between 1952 and 1960. He was the brother of former president and dictator ...

. She served as the First Lady of the Dominican Republic from 12 December 1959 to 4 August 1960. McLaughlin was born within an upper-class white family in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. Her father was Col. Charles McLaughlin, an American marine who arrived in the Dominican Republic during the United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924), while her mother was Zaida Simó Clark, of English heritage. McLaughlin met and engaged with

in 1937, at age 16. However, they did not marry until 1959 when he was President of the country as Trujillo's elder brother (

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

) did not consent their marriage, as he expected Héctor, his junior brother, to take care of their elderly mother instead of marrying. McLaughlin and her husband exiled in Estoril, Portugal in 1961 and relocated first to Panama and later to Miami, United States. Trujillo died in 2002 and McLaughlin died in a nursing home in 2018.

References

1921 births 2018 deaths First Ladies of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic expatriates in Panama Dominican Republic expatriates in Portugal Dominican Republic expatriates in the United States Dominican Republic people of English descent Dominican Republic people of European American descent Dominican Republic people of Irish descent People from San Cristóbal Province White Dominicans {{DominicanRepublic-bio-stub