Raquel Arbaje

Raquel Patricia Arbaje Soneh de Abinader (born 1970)^[1] 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.^[2][3]

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Arbaje, the second or maternal family name is Soneh, and, for married women, the optional marital name is de Abinader.

Raquel Arbaje
Arbaje in 2021
55th First Lady of the Dominican Republic
Current
Assumed role 16 August 2020
President	Luis Abinader
Preceded by	Cándida Montilla de Medina
Personal details
Born	Raquel Patricia Arbaje Soneh 1970 (age 54–55) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Political party	Modern Revolutionary Party (2014–present)
Other political affiliations	Dominican Revolutionary Party (1988–2014)
Spouse	Luis Abinader ​ (m. 1995)​
Children	3
Alma mater	Universidad Iberoamericana (Lic.)

Early life

Arbaje is the daughter of businessman Elías Arbaje Farah and Margarita Soneh, who were both of Lebanese descent.^[4][5][6] Her uncle Bartolo Soni, older brother of Margarita, was a professional boxer.^[7] She is the third of four siblings. Her father was a businessman who manufactured mattresses.^[5]

Education

Arbaje graduated summa cum laude with business administration degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) in Santo Domingo.^[4][8][6] She speaks fluent Spanish, English, and French, and has some knowledge of Italian and Portuguese.^[8][6]

Arbaje is a businesswoman and author of children's literature.^[4] She also recorded a song, "'Mi cajita de valores", with the proceeds benefiting the Don Bosco children's nonprofit.^[4][3]

Personal life

She married economist Luis Abinader. Together, the couple have three children – Graciela Lucía, Esther Patricia and Adriana Margarita Abinader Arbaje.^[4][6] Together with Abinader, Arbaje composed the anthem for the Modern Revolutionary Party, which was co-founded by her husband in 2014.^[4][3]

In June 2020, both Arbaje and Abinader tested positive for COVID-19 during the 2020 presidential election campaign. Both recovered from the coronavirus.^[9]

First Lady

Raquel Arbaje became First Lady of the Dominican Republic on 16 August 2020. Unlike her immediate predecessors, Abinader and Arbaje announced that the government would eliminate funding for the Office of the First Lady during his presidential tenure.^[4] Instead, Arbaje had proposed a much smaller office to handle the schedule and role of the first lady during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns.^[4][6]