The two Terms Haitian President Rene Preval

Haitian politics has been shaped by decades of power struggles between people in power, as well as with the country's citizens. Long-time politician René Préval has witnessed and experienced them all.

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Before becoming a politician, Préval first became an agronomist, which has something to do with the science and technology of agriculture. After acquiring his studies in Belgium and Italy and living in New York for five years, he went home to Haiti and worked for the National Institute for Mineral Resources and was very active in agricultural activities in Haitian society. Préval then put up his own bakery and remained active political movements and charity, which led him to meet Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the country's first democratic president. In 1991, he served as Haiti's Prime Minister for eight months before going into exile after a military coup.

Rene Preval had his first take on the presidential seat in 1996 when he won the elections with 88% of the votes. During his five-year term, he introduced economic and agrarian reforms which resulted to a decrease in Haiti's unemployment rate. Despite his good works, Préval's administration was faced by political turmoil, especially with the dominating opposition.

In 2006, Rene Preval again won the presidential elections. But his win was met with allegations of fraud but was then declared president for a second time with 51.15% of the votes. Despite his critiques, Préval's office marked the start of Haiti's economic growth and emphasized the essence of unity in governance, which is still not the case in Haiti's current government.

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Read more: rene preval, jean-bertrand aristide, Prime Minister, Jean-Bertand Aristide, Coup D'Etat, New York, Agriculture, Agronomist, Belgium, Italy, National Institute for Mineral Resources, Bakery, 1996, 2006, president

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