Ulises Heureaux

Ulises Hilarión Heureaux Leibert (October 21, 1845 – July 26, 1899) was president of the Dominican Republic from 1 September 1882 to 1 September 1884, from 6 January to 27 February 1887 and again from 30 April 1889 until his assassination, maintaining power between his terms.

Early life

Heureaux, affectionately known as Lilís, was born in Puerto Plata. He is the son of D'assas Heureaux, a Haitian, (whose father Pierre Alejandro Heureaux, was a Frenchman and his mother an African-born slave) and Josefa Leibert from St. Thomas, whom were both mulattoes but with dark skin. Due to his cultural background, he was able to speak French and English in addition to Spanish fluently. Following the annexation of the Dominican Republic by Spain in 1861 he joined the rebellion to restore independence, becoming the principal lieutenant of Gen. Gregorio Luperón. In the period following this restoration of independence, when revolutions were an annual occurrence, Heureaux emerged as one of the principal leaders of the Partido Azul. In 1876, he orchestrated an uprising that seized Puerto Plata and led to the election of Ulises Espaillat. When the nation’s leading caudillo Buenaventura Báez, returned to power for his fifth term and fell after less than a year, he helped overthrow the two subsequent regimes.