José Urena, businessman, diplomat and founder of El Siclo newspaper, died this Wednesday at the age of 78 after a battle with various illnesses.
Urena Santiago was president of the Wholesalers Association and president and founder of the Dominican Federation of Merchants, which at the time stood out for uniting most of the country’s food trade.
In 1980 he founded the Dominican Bank of Commerce (Bancomercio), which at the time accounted for more than 10 percent of the country’s total banking system assets and deposits after acquiring Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada. He was also president of the Association of Banks of the Dominican Republic.
As a diplomat, he was the Honorary Ambassador of Hungary to our country, and in 2005 he was appointed Dominican Ambassador to the Empire of Japan, receiving the highest decoration awarded by the Emperor of that country. He was ambassador to Canada and later to Ecuador.
Urena stood out for various philanthropic work such as Fundación del Dolor, San José Nursing Home. In 2004, he published his memoirs “Breaking the Silence”, “Memories of a Banker” and other publications.
Urena also founded other companies such as Datuk Centro, food companies, insurance companies and Puerto Rico Commerce Bank.
Raised and buried
Jose Urena’s family said the funeral will begin at 4:00 PM at the Blandino Funeral Home on Abraham Lincoln Avenue in the National District. This Thursday m.
A requiem mass will be held next Friday at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel at the Puertas del Cielo Cemetery, after which he will be buried.
