| Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores Cancillería | |
 | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1874 |
| Jurisdiction |  Dominican Republic |
| Headquarters | Av. Independencia,Santo Domingo |
| Annual budget | RD$ 8,261,136,983.55 (2021)[1] |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Website | https://mirex.gob.do/ |
TheMinistry of External Relations (Spanish:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores orMIREX) of theDominican Republic is thegovernment institution in charge offoreign affairs. It's responsible of coordinating the foreign policy of the Dominican Republic along thePresident, in accordance with Article 128 of theConstitution. It is commonly known as the Chancellery (Cancillería)
It was created on 1874 as theSecretaría de Estado de Relaciones Exteriores. Its headquarters are located at Santo Domingo. Its current Minister is Roberto Álvarez, since August 16, 2020.[3]
Since the early days of theDominican Republic, the external relations focused on securing aprotectorate with a foreign power, be itSpain,France orUnited Kingdom. This led to presidentPedro Santana signing the annexation of the Dominican Republic to Spain, becoming once again a Spanish colony.
It is during the Second Republic that theSecretary of State of External Relations (Secretaría de Estado de Relaciones Exteriores) is created on 1874. During this period, some of the most distinguished men of the time were in charge of Dominican diplomacy, such asUlises Espaillat,Pedro Francisco Bonó,Manuel de Jesús Galván, among others.
The Second Republic saw the interference of theUnited States into thepolitics andeconomy of the Dominican Republic. During the presidency ofRamón Cáceres, Dominican Customs were under direct supervision of the United States. The political instability of the time led to theUnited States occupation of the Dominican Republic between 1916 and 1924.
The Third Republic was characterized by the dictatorship ofRafael Trujillo. The Chancellery was nuder the control of the regime. The dictator himself occupied the position of Chancellor in 1938 and 1953.
In 1945, the Dominican Republic was one of the founding members of theUnited Nations. Ambassador Minerva Bernardino, first female diplomat of the Dominican Republic, signed theCharter of the United Nations in name of the country. It is also one of the founding members of the Organization of American States since 1948.
During the Fourth Republic, the country has been more actively involved in foreign affairs, particularly within theCaribbean region.
With the 2010Constitutional reform, the office became theMinistry of External Relations (Ministeriode Relaciones Exteriores) with Decree no. 56–10.
As all otherMinistries of the Dominican Republic, the Ministry of External Relations is subdivided into viceministries.[4] These are:
Other offices of lower rank are:
Some offices with a special link with the Ministry are:[5]