| Raquel Arbaje de Abinader | |
| Status: | Current |
| Term Label: | Assumed role |
| Office: | 55th First Lady of the Dominican Republic |
| Term Start: | 16 August 2020 |
| Predecessor: | Cándida Montilla de Medina |
| President: | Luis Abinader |
| Birth Name: | Raquel Patricia Arbaje Soneh |
| Birth Date: | 21 September 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Party: | Modern Revolutionary Party |
| Alma Mater: | Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) |
| Children: | 3 |
Raquel Patricia 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.[1] [2]
Arbaje is the daughter of businessman Elías Arbaje Farah and Margarita Soneh, who were both of Lebanese descent. Her uncle is Bartolo Soni who was a professional boxer, older brother of Margarita.[3] 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.[4]
Arbaje graduated summa cum laude with business administration degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) in Santo Domingo.[5] [6] She speaks fluent Spanish, English, and French, and has some knowledge of Italian and Portuguese.[6]
Arbaje is a businesswoman and author of children's literature.[5] She also recorded a song, "'Mi cajita de valores", with the proceeds benefiting the Don Bosco children's nonprofit.[5] [2]
She married economist Luis Abinader. Together, the couple have three children – Graciela Lucía, Esther Patricia and Adriana Margarita Abinader Arbaje.[5] Together with Abinader, Arbaje composed the anthem for the Modern Revolutionary Party, which was co-founded by her husband in 2014.[5] [2]
In June 2020, both Arbaje and Abinader tested positive for COVID-19 during the 2020 presidential election campaign. Both recovered from the coronavirus.[7]
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.[5] Instead, Arbaje had proposed a much smaller office to handle the schedule and role of the first lady during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns.[5] [8]