The Honourable
Dionisio D'Aguilar
Minister of Tourism and Aviation
In office
15 May 2017 – September 2021
Preceded byObie Wilchcombe
Succeeded byChester Cooper
Member of Parliament
for Free Town
In office
May 10, 2017 – September 2021
Preceded byRichard Lightbourne
Succeeded byWayne Munroe
Personal details
Born (1964-10-15) October 15, 1964
Nassau, Bahamas
CitizenshipBahamas
Political partyFree National Movement
Spouse
Saskia Schutte
​
(m. 1990)​
Children2
Alma materCornell University
OccupationBusinessman

Dionisio James D'Aguilar (born October 15, 1964) is a Bahamian Free National Movement (FNM) politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Free Town and Minister of Tourism and Aviation from 2017 to 2021. Before getting involved in politics, he was a well-known businessman who served on the board of directors for multiple companies.

Early life and career

D'Aguilar was born in Nassau on October 15, 1964, to Vincent D'Aguilar and Marina Benjamin, and attended Rugby School in England for his early education.[1] He then studied at Cornell University, receiving his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in hotel administration in 1986 before earning his Master of Business Administration (MBA) one year later.[1][2] He remained in New York state for five years while working as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) before returning to the Bahamas, where he has served as the president and CEO of Superwash Limited, a chain of self-service laundromats, since 1993.[3]

D'Aguilar later served on the board of directors for companies such as Insurance Company of The Bahamas, J.S. Johnson Insurance, AML Foods Limited, Bahamar, and the Bahamas Electricity Corporation.[3] As an active member of the community, he also presided as the president of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative.[4]

Political career

Prior to his political career, D'Aguilar was often in the news for challenging the government on issues such as fiscal policy and strict immigration.[5][6][7][8] He committed to running for a Parliamentary seat in the 2017 general election under the FNM platform, submitting his name for consideration.[9][10] He was officially ratified by the party in October 2016 to represent the Free Town constituency, then still known as Montague.[11] The incumbent, Richard Lightbourne, had fallen out of favor with the party, which is why they looked to replace him.[10] Leading up to the election, D'Aguilar said that the country was "becoming a socialist state" in response to a proposed reform of the Employment and Industrial Relations Acts which increased the maximum length of redundancy pay, calling the idea "absolutely crazy."[12] He also criticized government social programs and overspending.[13]

D'Aguilar won the seat after defeating Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) candidate Wayne Munroe with 60 percent of the vote; the FNM also won 35 of 39 seats.[14][15] Five days later he was sworn in as Minister of Tourism and Aviation by new Prime Minister Hubert Minnis,[16] and in June he was elected to a one-year term as chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).[17] In 2018, he was named the Caribbean Tourism Minister of the Year at the Caribbean Travel Awards, receiving praise for adding new hotels and securing additional flights to the islands.[18] Caribbean Journal reported that no other country in the region had a more impressive surge in their tourism sector that year.[19]

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt devastating blows to the tourism industry, and it was no exception in the Bahamas,[20] where airports and seaports were closed to visitors starting on March 24, 2020.[21] In June, he announced the Tourism Readiness and Recovery Plan, a four-phase strategy for re-opening the international tourist economy.[22] In January 2021, in response to U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order requiring returning tourists to self-quarantine, D'Aguilar said the move was "simply devastating" because it represented a "significant deterrent to travel."[23] The following month he expressed satisfaction with the rate of COVID-19 vaccination in the United States, projecting an improvement in the domestic situation by the third quarter of the year.[20]

Personal life

D'Aguilar married Dutch citizen and fellow Cornell alum Saskia Schutte in 1990, and brought her back with him to Nassau the following year.[24] The couple has two sons, Alexander and Oliver, both of whom played football.[24]

Saskia bonded with Dionisio's father, Vincent, over his art collection, often going to art shows and galleries together as he taught her about the local scene.[24] After his death in 2008, she lobbied the family to open the D'Aguilar Art Foundation to preserve and display his collection, serving as its director.[24]

According to the declared financial declarations, Dionisio D'Aguilar is worth US$37.9 million (2021).[25]

References

  1. 1 2 "Dionisio DAguilar". Free National Movement. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Dionisio D'Aguilar Wins Election". Student Agencies Foundation. July 17, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "HON. DIONISIO JAMES D'AGUILAR". Caribbean Tourism Organization. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Dionisio D'Aguilar Appointed Bahamas Minister of Tourism". Travel Pulse. July 7, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ "D'Aguilar: The Bahamas Needs Foreigner Workers". The Bahama Journal. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Superwash Chief: Vat Bites 12-14% Off Key Products". tribune242.com. May 11, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Minister Fred Mitchell responds to Dionisio D'Aguilar". The Bahamas Weekly. January 26, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  8. ↑ Hartnell, Neil (March 11, 2016). "Gov'T 'Scared' Over Transparency Reform". tribune242.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  9. ↑ "D'Aguilar: I did not request any specific constituency". The Nassau Guardian. Bahamas Local. September 14, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Wells, Ricardo (September 19, 2016). "Dionisio D'Aguilar Set To Be Ratified By Fnm For Montagu". tribune242.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  11. ↑ "FNM RATIFIES 6 CANDIDATES". The Bahama Journal. October 28, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  12. ↑ Hartnell, Neil (March 16, 2017). "Bahamas 'Nears A Socialist State'". tribune242.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Dionisio: Govt Creating 'Country Of Dependents'". Free National Movement. February 28, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ "General election 2017". Bahamas Local. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  15. ↑ Ward, Jasper (January 7, 2020). "Munroe wants another shot at Freetown". The Nassau Guardian. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  16. ↑ Myers, Gay Nagle (May 16, 2017). "Businessman Dionisio D'Aguilar sworn in as Bahamas' minister of tourism and aviation". Travel Weekly. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Bahamas Minister of Tourism to lead Caribbean Tourism Organization". South Florida Caribbean News. June 12, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  18. ↑ "The Caribbean Travel Awards 2018". Caribbean Journal. December 17, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Bahamas Wins Two Extra Tourism Awards". tribune242.com. December 21, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  20. 1 2 Rolle, Leandra (February 3, 2021). "D'Aguilar: Things Will Improve By Third Quarter". tribune242.com. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  21. ↑ "The Bahamas bans incoming flights during pandemic". Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. March 25, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Minister of Tourism remarks at Tourism Readiness and Recovery Plan Press Conference". The Bahamas Weekly. June 2, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  23. ↑ Brown, Oswald T. (January 27, 2021). "Tourism Minister Says U.S. COVID-19 Travel Restrictions 'Simply Devastating' For Bahamas". The Washington Informer. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "Saskia D'Aguilar - DAF Director". D'Aguilar Art Foundation. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  25. ↑ "At Least 55 Millionaires Want Seats in Bahamas Parliament". 30 August 2021.
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