• Born: 29 September 1940, Carlos A. Morales Troncoso
  • Birthplace: Dominican Republic
  • Nationality: Dominican
  • Best Known As: Top-ranking sugarcane business executive from the Dominican Republic known to develop a high-profile political and diplomatic career.

Carlos Morales Troncoso’s main productive activities during his adulthood and professional life focused around the sugarcane industry, acting from the private sector.

He completed graduate studies at Louisiana State University (LSU) in the fields of Chemistry and Agricultural Engineering (1961-1962).

His professional career saw him through several posts at the Gulf & Western Americas Corporation, -part of the American conglomerate best known as Gulf + Western- starting from Assisting Engineer (1962) up to Chairman of the Executive Board and its Chief Executive Officer (1976-1984).

When the Gulf & Western Americas Corporation transferred its assets to the Central Romana Corporation, Morales Troncoso remained its Chief Officer and became one of the venture’s main shareholders together with two-fifth generation sugar barons Alfonso and J. Pepe Fanjul. The terms and conditions of the agreement where not publicly disclosed, however, the Gulf & Western said that it had recovered the carrying value of its operations, totaling over $200 million; properties purchased included 240,000 acres of land, a resort and two hotels in the Dominican Republic and a sugar mill and refinery in Florida, as the New York Times disclosed in January 10, 1985.

Morales Troncoso was also a member of the Board of Directors at Okeelanta Sugar Company from 1984 to 1986. 

Joaquin Balaguer chose him to run as his ballot partner for the 1986 elections, on a surprising move by the octogenarian strongman, considering that Morales Troncoso was first perceived as an outsider by Balaguer's partisans. Morales Troncoso resigned from most private posts to become Vice-President of the Dominican Republic.

Up until October 1989, Morales Troncoso held the Executive Directorate of the State’s Sugar Council (Consejo Estatal del Azucar- CEA), an entity holding ownership of the sugar cane mills owned by the Dominican State.

Then, in addition to his Vice-Presidential post, Balaguer named Morales Troncoso to serve concurrently as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the United States of America, holding offices in Washington, D.C from 1989 to 1990.

In 1991, amidst international accusations of child labor in Dominican sugarcane fields and other locations, Morales Troncoso presided the Commissions to follow-up the Agreements reached during the World Child Summit, as appointed by Presidential Decree No.122-91.

For the 1994 elections, Balaguer chose Jacinto Peynado over Morales Troncoso to be his running mate to face black leader of Haitian origin Jose Francisco Pena Gomez. These elections were marred by electoral fraud and lead to a constitutional crisis and reform calling for new presidential elections, forbidding Joaquin Balaguer from taking part in said elections, yet allowing him to stay as President of the Dominican Republic until then.

During his last presidential period, Balaguer appointed Morales Troncoso as Minister of External Relations (Foreign Affairs) of the Dominican Republic, a post Morales held from August 1994 to May 1996.

In a mischievous twist of fate, when Balaguer and his followers betrayed Peynado while he was running for the 1996 presidential elections, Morales Troncoso joined Balaguer, Leonel Fernandez, Marino Vinicio Castillo (Vincho) and others in a 'National Patriotic Front' to block Jose Francisco Pena Gomez and his party from reaching the Dominican presidency. The black leader again faced racist attacks and xenophobic propaganda; he died of cancer in 1998 without ever reaching for good the Dominican presidency and not without some irony is remembered by many as a memorable Dominican.

Morales Troncoso's marked interests towards the sugarcane industry lead him to steward the Caribbean Basin Initiative’s Sugar Group (CBI Group), representing sugar producers in Central America and the Caribbean, where he has served as its President.

Aside from his interests in the sugar industry, Haitian, Dominican and international affairs, at some point Morales Troncoso gained recognition as a breeder of purebred horses.

His known literary work mainly confines to technical and nonfiction, on sugar industry related topics, Entrepreneurship and personal accounts and observations related to Joaquin Balaguer. Like many of Balaguer's followers, his political discourse has often bordered the apologetic, almost surreal life circumstances of Joaquin Balaguer.

Morales Troncoso, together with others who took part in the 'National Patriotic Front' of 1996, including Leonel Fernandez, called for the re-edition of the so -called 1996 'patriotic front' during campaigning for the 2006 congressional elections, to block colleagues of Hipólito Mejía from keeping control of the Dominican Congress.

Starting on August 2004 and so far during Leonel Fernandez’s second term to the Dominican presidency, Morales Troncoso has served -once again- as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic a position he still holds on the date of this entry.

Meanwhile, the people of the Dominican Republic have witnessed collective and arbitrary expulsions of hundreds of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian origin and the seemingly voluntary -yet forced departure- of at least two activists working for the promotion, protection and fulfillment of human rights of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian origin living in the Dominican Republic.

The past is prologue.