Tuesday, April 28 2009
By David Savona (
CigarAficionado.com)
Fernando León Asensio, one of the most powerful men in the Dominican Republic and the former head of La Aurora S.A., the Caribbean country's oldest cigar company, died this afternoon. He was 87. León was at his home in Santiago, Dominican Republic, surrounded by his family.
The son of founder Eduardo León Jimenes, León took the helm of the company in the 1950s. León was the former blending master and was instrumental in the tobacco sector of the company, a subsidiary of Empresa León Jimenes CxA, one of the largest companies in the Dominican Republic and a part of the León family for more than 100 years. Empresa León Jimenes enjoys a virtual monopoly in the Dominican beer market, thanks to its primary brand Presidente, and has subsidiaries in banking and printing, as well as cigars. In 1963 it began making cigarettes, and for many years it made Marlboros for the Dominican market and was minority-owned by Philip Morris. (The relationship ended in 2006 when Aurora left the cigarette business.)
Fernando León Asensio of La Aurora Dies continues at CigarAficionado.com...
