Dominick J. Ruggerio (December 19, 1948 – April 21, 2025) was an American politician who was a Democratic member and president of the Rhode Island Senate, representing the 4th District from 1985. A member of the Senate since 1985, he was previously elected Majority Leader on November 10, 2010, having won election to his 14th term in the Senate on November 2, 2010. Ruggerio served as President of the Senate from 2017 until his death in 2025.

Dominick Ruggerio graduated from La Salle Academy in 1966. Ruggerio then attended Bryant College and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1974 from Providence College. He was a retired administrator for the New England Laborers Labor Management Coop Trust, as well as a member of the board of directors for the Wanskuck Library, the Sons of Italy, Loggia Vittoria, and the DaVinci Center Development Committee.

As Senate President, Ruggerio served as an ex officio member of all standing Senate committees.

Ruggerio served as Majority Whip from 2003 through 2010. He had previously served as a member and as Vice Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor and Transportation, and as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Labor Committee, and the Joint Committee on Accounts and Claims. He also previously served as Deputy Majority Leader.

Ruggerio was the “Dean” of the Rhode Island General Assembly, meaning he had served longer than any other member of the RI Senate or House of Representatives.

Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Ruggerio was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1981 through 1984 and was a member of the House Labor Committee and House Corporations Committee.

He served as a policy adviser for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor from 1977 through 1981.

In January 2013, Ruggerio was one of five senators to file legislation seeking a voter referendum to define marriage as being between solely a man and a woman in the Rhode Island Constitution.