Voss y Gil, Alejandro

He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Professional Institute of Santo Domingo, was engaged in advocacy, then joined the troops of Ulysses Hero and rose to the rank of general.

After the resignation of President Francisco Gregorio Billini , in whose administration he served as vice president since 1884, in May 1885, at the age of only 29, og became the head of the Dominican Republic. In this post, he took up the development of industrial enterprises (the creation of factories for the production of phosphorus and candles), as well as the signing of foreign trade agreements with other states. At the same time, clashes continued with his political opponents (suppressed two coup attempts), loyal to former president Cesario Guillermo , whose arrest and prosecution led the ex-president to suicide. These events led to the strengthening of the position of Ero, who took over as president. During his reign, the politician held the posts of Minister of Public Works, Foreign Affairs and the Navy Minister, Finance and Commerce, Internal Affairs and Justice.

In 1896-1899 - Ambassador to the United States, in this post sought to improve bilateral economic relations.

In March 1903, in the face of the threat of invasion by the United States, he led a coup and removed the post of head of state, Horacio Vazquez , again taking office as president of the Dominican Republic (received 509 out of 537 electoral votes). After taking office, he found the country in a state of bankruptcy due to the burden of previously taken debts and imposed embargoes. This led him to the decision to sell part of the national territory, which in turn triggered a military coup and its overthrow in November 1903 by General Carlos Felipe Morales . This event was called the "Unionist Revolution", because it united the opposing forces: the "Orasists" (supporters of Horacio Vazquez) and the "Chimenists" who supported Juan Isidro Jimenez in the fight against the adherents of Ulysses Ero.

After the overthrow of the head of state, he went into exile. In 1912 he returned to the Dominican Republic and resumed the practice of law, having finally left social and political life.

His daughter, Celeste Voss-i-Gil (1890-1985), became a famous Dominican artist.

• https://web.archive.org/web/20081016225252/http://www.agn.gov.do/departamentos-agn-dominicana/dep-hemeroteca-biblioteca/historia-dominicana/181-alejandro-woss-y- gil-1885.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20090403074651/http://www.wikidominicana.edu.do/wiki/Alejandro_Woss_y_Gil
• https://web.archive.org/web/20080411094027/http://historiadominicana.wordpress.com/2008/04/02/biografia-alejandro-woss-y-gil/