As its name suggests, the Dominican Republic (República Dominicana) is a republic (or “representative democracy,” as the US State Department calls it). The country first gained its independence in February of 1844, when it broke away from Haiti, and officially regained it – after one of its leaders gave it back to Spain – in 1865. Its first constitution was formally adopted in November 1844, and subsequently revised at least two dozen times, as the country suffered through a century of political instability followed by dictatorship. The DR’s current constitution (with later modifications) was adopted in 1966 after several years of political turmoil and civil war and a US military intervention following the 1961 assassination of dictator Rafael Trujillo.
Under its constitution, the Dominican Republic is governed by three independent branches, much like the United States: an executive branch (consisting of an elected president and vice president and a cabinet appointed by the president); a legislative branch with an elected bicameral Congress (consisting of the 32-member Senate and the 150-member Chamber of Deputies); and a judicial branch with judges chosen by the Senate. The Judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of Justice, a 16-member body appointed by a bipartisan National Judicial Council.
The country is divided into 31 provinces and the National District of Santo Domingo, the capital, where the president’s official residence is the National Palace.
Each province is headed by a governor appointed by the country’s president. There are also 124 municipal districts governed by elected mayors and municipal councils (as is the National District).
- IN THIS CHAPTER:
- Elections
- The National Flag
