Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna ( Guayabo Dulce, born December 16, 1954) is a Dominican lawyer,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, and retired

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

of the

Dominican Army The Dominican Army ( es, Ejército de República Dominicana, is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Dominican Navy, Navy and the Dominican Air Force, Air Force. The Dominican army with 28,75 ...

. He is the President and founder of the

Civic Renovation Party The Civic Renovation Party ( es, Partido Cívico Renovador, or PCR) is a political party in the Dominican Republic which was founded in 2006 as the Civic Renovation Movement by Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna and a group of social-democratic Domin ...

. He was Chief of Staff of the

from 2003 to 2004 and is the current Director of the National Institute of Price Stabilization (Spanish: Instituto de Estabilización de Precios).

Early life and education

Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna was born in Guayabo Dulce (a town of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Hato Mayor in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

), on 16 December 1954 to Manuel María Zorrilla and Sirila Ozuna. He studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

in the Central University of Professional Studies (Spanish: Universidad Central Dominicana de Estudios Profesionales). He is known as a lecturer on topics pertaining history and society, and for developing projects for the restoration of historic buildings in the country.

Military career

From 2000 to 2003, he served as Commander of the First Dominican Regime of the Presidential Guard, where he excelled at contributing with the educational growth of the country. In 2003, he became Chief of Staff of the

Political career

He organized the Civic Renovation Movement, which helped support

Miguel Vargas Maldonado Miguel Vargas may refer to: * Miguel Vargas (politician) (born 1950), Dominican politician * Miguel Vargas (runner) (born 1957), Costa Rican long-distance runner * Miguel Vargas (footballer, born 1969), Chilean football midfielder * Miguel Vargas ( ...

in the pre-presidential election of Dominican Republic in 2008. In September 2009 the

is recognized as a political party by the resolution no. 18-2009 with which he is presented as a Presidential candidate. Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna participates in the presidential elections of 2012, in the Purple Alliance (Spanish: Alianza Morada), supporting

Danilo Medina Danilo Medina Sánchez ( : born 10 November 1951) is a Dominican politician who was President of the Dominican Republic from 2012 to 2020. Medina previously served as Chief of Staff to the President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 1999 ...

, who won the presidential election of

in 2012. In 2012 the Progressive Renovator Pact (Spanish: Pacto Progresista Renovador) was signed between members of the

Dominican Liberation Party The Dominican Liberation Party ( Spanish: Partido de la Liberación Dominicana, referred to here by its Spanish acronym, the PLD) is a political party in the Dominican Republic. Founded in 1973 by former president Juan Bosch, the party, along ...

(including Leonel Fernández Reyna President of the Party and of Dominican Republic in that moment,

, and

Reinaldo Pared Pérez Reinaldo de las Mercedes Pared Pérez (25 September 1956 – 29 October 2021) was a Dominican politician. He represented Distrito Nacional in Chamber of Deputies from 1998 to 2002, and served in the Senate since 2006. Pared Pérez was presiden ...

) and members of the Civic Renovation Party (its President Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna and the General Secretary, Franklin White Coplin). Other signatories were: Francisco Javier García, General Coordinator of the Dominican Liberation Party,

Jaime David Fernández Mirabal Dr. Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal (born 15 October 1956) is a Dominican psychiatrist, agronomist, and politician. He was Vice President of the Dominican Republic, having served in the first Government of the Dominican Liberation Party from 19 ...

, Temístocles Montás, Radhamés Camacho, Roberto Salcedo, and senators Félix Bautista from

San Juan de la Maguana San Juan de la Maguana is a city and municipality in the western region of the Dominican Republic and capital of the San Juan province. It was one of the first cities established on the island; founded in 1503, and was given the name of San Juan ...

, Amílcar Romero from

Duarte Province Duarte () is a northeastern province which comprises one of the 32 provinces of the Dominican Republic. It is divided into 7 municipalities and its capital city is San Francisco de Macorís. It is bordered by the provinces of María Trinidad Sánc ...

, Rubén Darío Cruz from Hato Mayor, Félix Nova from

Monseñor Nouel Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla (12 December 1862, Santo Domingo – 26 June 1937) was an archbishop, educator and interim president of the Dominican Republic. Early life and education Nouel was born to Carlos Rafael Nouel y Pierret, a ...

, José Rafael Vargas from Espaillat, and Rafael Calderón from Azua. This alliance later took Danilo Medina to the Presidency of Dominican Republic.

Sila Ozuna Foundation

In 2004, Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna founded the Sila Ozuna Foundation to promote the welfare of those in need due to poverty, diseases or social injustices by giving them medical attention, food, and educational donations that will help them have a brighter future.

National Institute of Price Stabilization

In August 2012, through the decree 468-12, the President of Dominican Republic,

, designated Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna as the Director of the National Institute of Price Stabilization (Spanish: Instituto Nacional de Estabilización de Precios –INESPRE-). Throughout his administration, he has created programs to support local producers of the country as well as increasing the purchase power of consumers, specifically those of lower income, by providing the country of quality products at affordable prices.

Inclusion of Military Vote in Dominican Republic

On June 1, 2015, Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna proposed the inclusion of the military vote in the constitutional reform of

, to be effective on the elections of 2016. This reform has as core purpose to create the

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...

in the country, defend the

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an Constituency, electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision making, decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election camp ...

as a fundamental right, strengthen Dominican

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

, and give Dominican

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and

policemen A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

the right to vote, as every citizen is entitled to, according to the article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Only 4 countries of the 35 that form the Americas and the Caribbean, including Dominican Republic, Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala, prohibit military voting rights. For this reason, this proposal will have national transcendence, as it will benefit around 90,000 members of order and security forces in Dominican Republic. As part of this proposal, it is established that the constitutional mandate must prohibit military and policemen to get involved in any political activity, to guarantee that they remain as guarantor of democracy and won't destabilize the democratic process of the Dominican nation.

Personal life

Jorge Radhamés Zorrilla Ozuna married Rosanna González, on March 3, 1984 with whom he has fathered three children: Jorge Manuel, Katherine Johanna y Jorge Radhamés.

Awards

For his professional and military career he has received multiple awards both nationally and internationally, such as: *Award given in 2013 by Senator and Mayor of Union City, Brian P. Stack, in New Jersey. *Award given by José (Joy) Torres, Mayor of the City of Paterson * Award of "Distinguished Visitor" given in 2013, by the Counsel of Councilors of Puerto Plata

References

External links

Instituto Nacional de Estabilización de Precios (INESPRE)Partido Cívico RenovadorPeriódico El Renovador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zorrilla Ozuna, Jorge Radhames Dominican Republic politicians People from Hato Mayor Province Dominican Republic military personnel Presidents of political parties in the Dominican Republic Civic Renovation Party politicians 1954 births Living people