Francisco Gregorio Billini Aristi (May 25, 1844 – November 28, 1898 in

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) was a Dominican writer, pedagogue, and politician. Supported by the former president

Ulises Heureaux Ulises Hilarión Heureaux Leibert (; October 21, 1845 – July 26, 1899) nicknamed Lilís, was president of the Dominican Republic from September 1, 1882 to September 1, 1884, from January 6, 1887 to February 27, 1889 and again from April 30, 18 ...

, he won the national elections in 1884, and served as the 23rd

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 ...

, from September 1, 1884 to May 16, 1885. He resigned in 1885 to avoid creating a civil war as he found opposition, as Gregorio Luperon believed he was Ulises Heureaux puppet and a way of the dictator to maintain political power while Heureaux opposed him when Billini's policies affected his power and interests in the country.

Family background and early life

The son of Maria de Regla Aristi Guerrero and Hipolito Billini Hernandez, his grandfather Juan Antonio Billini Ruse, a native of

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, arrived in the island of Santo Domingo with the 1802 French troops commanded by General Charles Leclerc (Napoleon's brother in law) in order to reassert control over a slave rebellion on the western side of the island (currently the Republic of Haiti), eventually capturing and deporting Toussaint Louverture. Young Billini did his primary and secondary education in his hometown in the College of Father Boneau, where he learned to write in Latin and Italian (he also spoke Italian perfectly, having learned from his Italian grandfather as a boy). He went to the Theological Seminary St. Thomas Aquinas where he was a disciple of Fernando Arturo de Merino. He was the nephew of Francisco Xavier Billini, known in the Dominican Republic as "Padre Billini" (Father Billini) who founded in 1882 the still running National Lottery of the Dominican Republic.

Political career

Motivated by his militancy in the Blue party and his conviction that the country should preserve its independence, he participated at the age of 21 in the Dominican Restoration War, that ended in 1865. During the War he was trapped by the Spanish troops and in 1865 was exchanged in Puerto Plata after a treaty was made between the Dominican and Spanish troops. After the Restoration War ended, the Dominican Republic experienced some years of political turmoil, which ended when Buenaventura Baez started his so called "6 year government". Billini was known as one of the primary opponents of Buenaventura Baez government, first through publications and later as part of an armed rebellion against Baez. This costed him the exile in 1868. On his return to the country he served as a civil servant becoming Representative for Azua (1874),

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

(1878), Minister of War and Navy (1880). He was Vice President of the Dominican Republic from 5 March to 8 July 1878 in the cabinet of

Cesareo Guillermo Cesáreo Guillermo y Bastardo; (March 8, 1847November 8, 1885) was President of the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles arc ...

. He was the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Senate of the Dominican Republic The Senate of the Dominican Republic ( es, Senado de la República Dominicana) is the upper house in the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Dominican Republic, and together with the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic, Chamber ...

in 1878-1879. Later he announced intentions to become President of the Dominican Republic.

Presidency

In 1884, after a close electoral contest in which he beat Casimiro Nemesio de Moya, he was elected President of the Republic. He took office on September 1, 1884 and resigned on May 16, 1885. His unexpected resignation puzzled many of his followers. His last words as president were:

''I think it is a good example to be giving my resignation spontaneously and disappearing into the shadows of my house, without petty aspirations for the future.''

Other works and legacy

He founded the newspaper ''El Eco de la Opinion'' (March 1879), which circulated for over twenty years and became the paradigm of a thoughtful journalism combined with detailed news reviews. He collaborated regularly with ''El Nacional'', ''El Cable'', ''Letras y Ciencias'', ''El Mensajero'' and ''El Patriota''. Before he was president, he published the novel ''Amor y Expiacion'' in 1882, however the most important contributions of Billini to the Dominican national literature is the novel ''Baní or Engracia and Antoñita'' (1892), which prosecutes the political-social behavior and customs of nineteenth-century banilejos. He died in Santo Domingo on 28 November 1898. In 1998 his remains were transferred to the National Pantheon in Santo Domingo by order of President Leonel Fernandez. Currently one of the stations of the Santo Domingo Metro carries his name.

References