Raquel Arbaje

• Name — Raquel Arbaje • Status — Current • Term Label — Assumed role • Office — 55th First Lady of the Dominican Republic • Term Start — 16 August 2020 • Predecessor — Cándida Montilla de Medina • President — Luis Abinader • Birth Name — Raquel Patricia Arbaje Soneh • Mother — Margarita Soneh Curi • Father — Elías Arbaje Farah • Relatives — Bartolo Soni (uncle) Ricardo Arbaje Soneh (brother) Eduardo Arbaje Soneh (brother) Mónica Inés Arbaje Soneh (sister) • Born — 21 September 1970 • Birthplace — Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic • Party — Modern Revolutionary Party (2014–present) • Other Party — Dominican Revolutionary Party (1988–2014) • Education — Universidad Iberoamericana (Lic.) • Occupation — * Businesswoman • writer • Children — * Esther Patricia • Graciela Lucía • Adriana Margarita • Website — https: raquelarbaje.com.do/

Arbaje is the daughter of businessman Elías Arbaje Farah and Margarita Soneh Curi, who were both of Lebanese descent. Her uncle Bartolo Soni, older brother of Margarita, was a professional boxer. She is the third of four siblings. Her father was a businessman who manufactured mattresses.

Arbaje graduated summa cum laude with business administration degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) in Santo Domingo. She speaks fluent Spanish, English, and French, and has some knowledge of Italian and Portuguese. Arbaje is a businesswoman and author of children's literature. She also recorded a song, "'Mi cajita de valores", with the proceeds benefiting the Don Bosco children's nonprofit.

She married economist Luis Abinader. Together, the couple have three children – Esther Patricia, Graciela Lucía, and Adriana Margarita Abinader Arbaje. Together with Abinader, Arbaje composed the anthem for the Modern Revolutionary Party, which was co-founded by her husband in 2014. In June 2020, both Arbaje and Abinader tested positive for COVID-19 during the 2020 presidential election campaign. Both recovered from the coronavirus.

Raquel Arbaje became First Lady of the Dominican Republic on 16 August 2020. Unlike her immediate predecessors, Abinader and Arbaje announced that the government would eliminate funding for the Office of the First Lady during his presidential tenure. Instead, Arbaje had proposed a much smaller office to handle the schedule and role of the first lady during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns.