Raquel Arbaje Soneh (born 21 September 1970) is a Dominican businesswoman and children's literature writer. She has served as the First Lady of the Dominican Republic, since August 2020 as the wife of President, Luis Abinader.

Early life

Arbaje is the daughter of businessman Elías Arbaje Farah and Margarita Soneh, who were both of Lebanese descent. She is the third of four siblings, including Ricardo (who is deceased), Eduardo, and Monica. Her father, Elías Arbaje Farah, a businessman who manufactured mattresses, died on 16 November 2009.

Education

Arbaje 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 So ...

with business administration degree from the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University ( es, Universidad Iberoamericana), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'') is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican provi ...

(UNIBE) in

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) , webs ...

. She speaks fluent Spanish, English, and French, and has some knowledge of Italian and Portuguese. Arbaje is a businesswoman and author of children's literature. She also recorded a song, "'Mi cajita de valores", with the proceeds benefiting the Don Bosco children's nonprofit.

Personal life

She married economist Luis Abinader. Together, the couple have three children – Graciela Lucía, Esther Patricia and Adriana Margarita Abinader Arbaje. Together with Abinader, Arbaje composed the

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

for the Modern Revolutionary Party, which was co-founded by her husband in 2014. In June 2020, both Arbaje and Abinader tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

during the 2020 presidential election campaign. Both recovered from the coronavirus.

First Lady

Raquel Arbaje became First Lady of the Dominican Republic on 16 August 2020. Unlike her immediate predecessors, President Abinader and First Lady Arbaje announced that the government would eliminate funding for the Office of the First Lady during his presidential tenure. Instead, Arbaje had proposed a much smaller office to handle the schedule and role of the first lady during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbaje, Raquel Living people Date of birth unknown Year of birth unknown First Ladies of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic businesspeople Dominican Republic children's writers Dominican Republic women writers Dominican Republic composers Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) alumni Dominican Republic people of Lebanese descent White Dominicans People from Santo Domingo 1970 births