Biography

Raul Yzaguirre

The Ambassador of the United States of America, Raúl Yzaguirre, presented his credentials before the President of the Republic, Dr. Leonel Fernández, on November 17, 2010, shortly after his arrival in the Dominican Republic, on November 15. Ambassador Yzaguirre was confirmed by the Senate as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Dominican Republic, September 29, 2010.

Before assuming his current duties in the Dominican Republic, Raul Yzaguirre, Sr. was a Presidential Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the Center for Community Development and Civil Rights at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona.

From 1974 to 2004, Ambassador Yzaguirre served as President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Prior to that, he served as Vice President at the Center for Community Change in Washington D.C. From 1969 to 1973, he founded  two sister management consulting  organizations: Interstate Research Associates and InterAmerica Research Associates.

Ambassador Yzaguirre was a Senior Programs Analyst at the U.S. Office for Economic Opportunity and Special Advisor to the Director for said organization, Sargent Shriver, between 1966 and 1969. He was also named to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

He has also monitored several presidential elections in Latin America as a board member of the National Democratic Institute (NDI).  Ambassador Yzaguirre also served in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps for four years. He has a B.S. from George Washington University, was an Institute of Politics Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and studied at La Universidad de Las Americas in Puebla, Mexico.

The Ambassador and his wife Audrey have six children.