Juan Temístocles Montás Domínguez (born May 6, 1950) is a Dominican politician,

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and former

Minister of Industry and Trade The industry minister is a cabinet position in a government. The title may refer to the head of the governmental department that specializes in industry. This position may also be responsible for trade and employment, areas that fall under the mi ...

of 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 wit ...

. He previously served as Minister of Economy, Planning and Development and Technical Secretary of State to the Presidency of the Dominican Republic from 1998 to 2016. Between October 28, 2019 and March 7, 2021, he was the President 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 ...

. He's a member of the

in which has a long time political affiliation and broad political career. Born in

San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic San Cristóbal is a city in the southern region of Dominican Republic. It is the municipal (''municipio'') capital of the San Cristóbal province. The municipality is located in a valley at the foothills of the mountains belonging to the Cordiller ...

, in a family with 10 children. Montás, holds a Ph.D. in engineering from the

Technical University of Madrid The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Te ...

and also a master's degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. With broad public and professional career, is a government official with long experience. His office has published several papers related to politics, economy and the electricity sector in the

. The Montás family is descended from Claude Montás, a

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an entrepreneur of French origin who was born in

Mirebalais Mirebalais ( ht, Mibalè) is a commune in the Centre department of Haiti, approximately 60 km northeast of Port-au-Prince on National Road 3. The city was established in 1702. American Rotarians have made a number of mission-type trips to ...

, Haiti.

Political career and public life

Temístocles Montás was elected member of the first Central Committee of the

in 1973. Close friend, disciple and collaborator of the late Professor Juan Bosch, he served as Vice-Secretary of Political Education, Coordinator of Special Agencies and Organizations Special Secretary of the

. He was elected member of his political committee in 1990 together with Dr. Leonel Fernández and Lic Danilo Medina. Also held the post of Press Secretary of that political organization and is now the Secretary of International Relations of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), from where he has managed to make to efforts to involve the Political Party in international political forums like the

COPPPAL The Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (french: Conférence permanente des partis politiques d'Amérique latine et des Caraïbes; es, Conferencia Permanente de Partidos Políticos de América Latina y el ...

, etc. He has been since 1990 the coordinator of the technical teams that have prepared the Government Programs of the

. He had a leading role in the political crisis in the Dominican Republic of 1994, events leading the called "Pact for Democracy" and as one of leader of his political organization, together with Danilo Medina and

Leonel Fernández Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna () (born 26 December 1953) is a Dominican Republic, Dominican lawyer, academic, and was the 50th and 52nd President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012. From 2016 until 2020, he was ...

in 1996, were responsible for structuring a new political project inside the party, which later led to

as a candidate for the Presidency of the Dominican Republic, who was elected winner of the elections held that year and became the first Head of State from

. Montás, assumed leadership of the campaign strategy for the years 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 of the

, which with the exception of 2000, the party was the winner of the elections held in that country. He was a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

to the National Congress by the

for the period 1986–1990. Also serves as adviser to the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic. Government official with broad experience, he served as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Dominican Electricity Corporation, now the Dominican Corporation of State Electrical Companies (CDEEE) from 1996 to 1998. In 1998 he was appointed Technical Secretary of the Presidency until 2000, playing a key role in the economic and financial area. In August 2004 he was appointed for a second time, Technical Secretary of the Presidency, under the new Government of the Dominican Liberation Party, (PLD). From the public positions he has had to assume, he has played a role in the elaboration of public policies aimed at ensuring the economic and social development of the Dominican Republic during the four years 2004–2008. With the enactment of Law No. 496-06 governing body that creates the system of planning and public investment in the Dominican Republic is appointed by the Executive as Secretary of State for Economic, Planning and Development, Ministry today, replacing the former Technical Secretariat of the Presidency.http://www.suprema.gov.do/pdf/leyes/2006/ley_496-06.pdf

Head of the Government Economic Team

In his capacity as Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, he was the coordinator of the Dominican Government Economic Team with the authority to lead and coordinate the process of formulating, managing, monitoring and evaluation of macroeconomic policies and sustainable development. In his function as Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, represent the

as Governor at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

Board of Governors. Also represent the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

as Alternate Governor at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). He is member of the Board of the Public Debt of the

, member of the Social Policy Cabinet and member of the National Council for Treaty Implementation and Administration of the Dominican government. Also acting in the development of foreign trade policy of the

, as well as the relevant trade negotiations. He serves as member of the Board of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (the telecommunications governing body), and numerous other boards of directors of Dominican government institutions. Headed the Dominican government team that negotiated the agreements of the Dominican debt restructuring with its creditors like Club Paris and private banks in 2005, which allowed to extend the

maturities of its debt and settle their long-term payments after the country faces the aftermath of the largest economic and financial crisis in his history that emerged in 2003 with the collapse of major private commercial banks.

National Development Strategy

The Dominican government through the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development began a process of consulting and coordination with the participation of "prime movers" of the Dominican Republic, to define what would be the future of the country, leading to the preparation of a draft law to be submitted to the consideration of the Congress of the Dominican Republic for approval. MinistroMontasGuatemala

Reappointment

On August 16, 2012 the new President of the Dominican Republic

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 ...

, confirmed him as Minister of Economy, Planning and Development of the new government. Mr. Montas resigned his post as Minister of Economy, Planning and Development after being implicated in the Odebrecht corruption scandal. He has since maintained his innocence and regained his freedom after posting bail and is now under house arrest awaiting the outcome of the trials.

Academic career

He has been for more than two decades a university professor, author of several books related to economics, politics and the Dominican electricity sector. Graduated

Summa Cum Laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

(with high honors) in Chemical Engineering from the

Autonomous University of Santo Domingo In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's o ...

, where he was Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Technical University of Madrid, Spain. Also, he has a high specialization in graduate studies and post-graduate degree in the fields of economics, evaluation and project development, international economics, foreign trade and international finance at the University of Barcelona, Spain. He has been a speaker for national and international stages. He has held various roles in the private sector in the Dominican Republic. From 2000 until August 2004, he held the position of Executive Director Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, which presides Dr. Leonel Fernández, the former

President of the Dominican Republic The president of the Dominican Republic ( es, Presidente de la República Dominicana) is both the head of state and head of government of the Dominican Republic. The presidential system was established in 1844, following the proclamation of th ...

Controversies

Odebrecht scandal

On the morning of May 29, 2017, Temístocles Montás was arrested by the Public Ministry who accused him of being part of the corruption network of the Brazilian multinational company

Odebrecht Odebrecht S.A. (), officially known as Novonor, is a Brazilian conglomerate, headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, consisting of diversified businesses in the fields of engineering, construction, chemicals and petrochemicals. The company w ...

. The arrest warrant was requested by the Attorney General of the Republic, Jean Alain Rodríguez, who accused Montas and thirteen other people of crimes of bribery, association of criminals, prevarication, illicit enrichment and money laundering. Montás Domínguez was arrested and taken to the Ciudad Nueva Palace of Justice jail by Dominican police officers as a defendant. On May 30, 2017, Manuel Alejandro Rodríguez and José de Jesús Bergés Martín, acting as defense attorneys for Montás, petitioned the Criminal Chamber of the First Instance Court of the National District for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging irregularities committed during the prosecution process. detention of your client. The appeal was rejected. On June 7, 2017, Temístocles Montás received a six-month coercion order in the Najayo model prison for his involvement in the corruption scandal of the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The judge of the Special Instruction Francisco Ortega Polanco considered as valid the proposals of the Public Ministry dictating preventive detention of six months against Montas Domínguez at the same time that he declared the case as complex, giving the Public Ministry up to eight months to build and present its case against Montas and the thirteen others involved in the case.

Appeal

On Saturday, July 8, the second chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, acting as an appeal court for jurisdictional privileges, issued sentence number 2017-3043 in a public hearing, which varies the measure of coercion from Preventive prison to periodic presentation, and a bail of 15 million Dominican pesos in favor of the defense of Temistocles Montás and 6 other defendants, in her reading of the dissenting opinion, Judge Mirian Germán, presiding judge of the appeal court, argued that the evidence shown by the Public Ministry lacked of precise foundations which directly involve the accused. On the night of June 7, 2018, the Public Ministry in a press conference led by the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic, declared that after conducting the most in-depth investigations, they did not find evidence to corroborate with some information from Brazil, for what they proceeded to file the binding file of Temístocles Montás.

Family life

Montás was born in San Cristóbal, a province in the southern

, west of the capital

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

. His family founded the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) in the city of San Cristóbal,

. He is married to Mrs. Carmen Artero, with whom he has two sons and one daughter, Alfonso Temístocles, Raquel Indhira and Juan Carlos.

References

External links

Site of Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development of the Dominican RepublicSite of the Dominican Presidencial GovernmentSite of the Dominican National StrategyWeb Page of the
Dominican Liberation Party, (PLD)
Web Page of the
Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (FUNGLODE) {{DEFAULTSORT:Montas, Temistocles 1950 births Dominican Republic male writers People from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic Living people Dominican Liberation Party politicians * Dominican Republic people of French descent Dominican Republic people of Haitian descent Economy ministers of the Dominican Republic Industry ministers of the Dominican Republic Commerce ministers of the Dominican Republic