José María Cabral y Báez (1864–1937) was a lawyer, businessman, and politician from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He served as 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of the Congress of the Dominican Republic. Together, it and the Senate of the Dominican Republic, Senate comprise the legislature of the Dominican Republic. The composition and powers of the House a ...

in 1901.

Early life and family

Cabral y Báez was born to President Marcos Antonio Cabral and Altagracia Amelia Báez (daughter of President

Buenaventura Báez Ramón Buenaventura Báez Méndez (July 14, 1812March 14, 1884), was a Dominican conservative politician and military figure. He was president of the Dominican Republic for five nonconsecutive terms. His rule was characterized by corruption and ...

); he had 7 siblings, among them, Mario Fermín Cabral y Báez. On 17 November 1897, he married María Petronila Bermúdez y Rochet, daughter of Erasmo Bermúdez Jiménez, the founder of Bermúdez rum company; they had 6 children: Amelia María (1899–1996), Auristela (1901–1988),

José María José María (abbreviated José Mª) is a Spanish language male given name, usually considered a single given name rather than two names, and is a combination of the Spanish names of Saint Joseph, Joseph and Mary (mother of Jesus), Mary, the paren ...

(1902–1984), Marco Antonio (1906–1973), Josefina Eugenia (1910–1994), and Pedro Pablo Cabral Bermúdez (1916–1988). He also begat 3 children with Estela Navarro: Mairení, José and Raúl Cabral Navarro; with Rafaela Meyreles he sired 2 children: Rafael and Enrique Meyreles.

Career

In 1886, he founded in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

the law firm J. M. Cabral y Báez. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 1908 to November 1911, during the last half of Ramón Cáceres’s presidential term, and minister during the short presidency of Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal in 1916, before the American occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–24).

References