Troncoso de la Concha, Manuel de Jesús (1878–1955)

Manuel de Jesús Troncoso de la Concha (b. 3 April 1878; d. 30 May 1955), Dominican lawyer, university professor, and president (1940–1942). A native of Santo Domingo, Troncoso de la Concha received a licentiate in law from the University of Santo Domingo in 1899 and taught civil law there. From 1911 until his death in 1955, he held many important government positions, such as minister of justice, interior and police; development and communication; and war and naval affairs. During the era of Rafael Trujillo (1930–1961), he served as vice president (1938–1942). After the death of Jacinto B. Peynado in 1940, Troncoso de la Concha also became the nominal head of state. (In reality, Trujillo continued to run the Dominican Republic.)

Of his historical works, the most important is Genesis de la Ocupación Norteamericana de Santo Domingo, in which he analyzed the political and economic motives for the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic. Another one of his important historical writings is La Ocupación de Santo Domingo por Haití (1942), in which he made the unorthodox assertion that the Dominican population actually welcomed the Haitian occupation. Among his literary works, the Narraciones Dominicanas (1953) occupies a leading position. He died in Santo Domingo.

See alsoSanto Domingo; Trujillo Molina, Rafael Leónidas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

R. Emilio Jiménez, ed., Manuel de Jesús Troncoso de la Concha, 5th ed. (1960).

                                  Kai P. Schoenhals