Haitian President - Haiti Observer Blog

Former Haitian President Henry Namphy has his wishes granted. During his exile in the Dominican Republic, Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy made it clear that he never wanted to set foot in Haiti. To the dismay of many, the former Haitian President will not be buried in Haiti but rather in the Dominican Republic.

His body will be put to ground in the Dominican Republic, his land of exile. he body will be exhibited at La Paz Chapel, of Funerarium Blandino which is located at Abraham Lincoln Avenue in Santo Domingo on Saturday, June 30 at 2pm. He will be buried Sunday July 1st at 4 pm at Cristo Redentor in the Dominican Republic.

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Evans Paul confirmed Martelly' departure on February 7. President Michel Martelly has exactly 11 days left before leaving office. In an interview given to a Venezuelan television network, Prime Minister once again confirmed that the president will not stay after this date as stated in the constitution. He also explained that there are several options in discussion between various actors to determine how the country is going to be governed after February 7th.

Will the next president of Haiti be:
- the current judge from Court of Cassation Jules Cantave,
- the president of the Senate Jocelerme Privert
- or Prime Minister Evans Paul

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Anmey! Yon sel Biznis ki pi pwofitab an Ayiti se Gouvènman. Pandan ke popilasyon an ap vin pi pòv, gouvènman ayisyen an ape asire sekirite li. Yon nouvo dekrè ki pibliye nan jounal ofisyèl "Le Moniteur" pral fè prezidan nou an pi pi rich. Prezidan Repiblik la ap resevwa yon pansyon 250,000 goud yon fwa chak mwa. Koulye a, mwen konprann pou ki sa chak ayisyen vle vini Prezidan.

Ki sa ou panse?

Ou pa vle vini yon Prezidan?

English:
The only profitable business in Haiti remains Government. While the population is getting poorer and poorer, the Haitian government is assuring that its future is secure. A new decree published in issue 205 of the official newspaper "Le Moniteur" will make our presidents much richer. From now on, the President of the Republic will receive a monthly pension of 250,000 gourdes once living office. Now I understand why every Haitian wants to be President

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Haiti became an independent country on January 1, 1804. For the past 210 years since the first day of its independence, the country has had 44 Presidents so far. There is a very amusing and unprecedented fact behind the reign of these 44 Presidents-- 23 of them were ousted in Coup D' Etat. The story of ousting Presidents started with the first leader of the nation, Henri Christophe, who was a former slave and a key leader of the Haitian Revolution. He was elected President of the State of Haiti on 17 February 1807. Christophe committed suicide by shooting himself with a silver bullet rather than risking a coup and assassination. Since then the game of Coup D' Etat never seems to end in Haiti. Here is the list:

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Born a member of the gens de couleur libres, Alexandre Sabes Petion (1770 - 1818) began life between two worlds. It is a dichotomy he would continue, further marking his legacy as an instrumental force behind the struggle for independence of two lands, his own beloved Haiti, and the republic of Gran Colombia.

Alexandre Petion began his career, after an expensive education in France, by joining the fight to force the British out of Saint-Domingue between 1798 and 1799. He would subsequently fight on the side of the mulattos against Toussaint L'Ouverture and the blacks, and was exiled to France when the rebellion ended; he returned soon after with General Leclerc and his assemblage of warships and troops. In 1802, he joined the nationalist force and gave his support to Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the future proclaimer of the Haitian Independence and self-declared ruler for life of the newly formed country.

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Boniface Alexandre, born on July 31, 1936, was the 54th President of Haiti. He served as the acting Haitian President's between February 29, 2004 and May 14, 2006.

Boniface Alexandre was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court when his predecessor President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted by"2004 Haitian coup d'état". Thus, he was in normal lineage to become the President when Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned on February 29, 2004.

Boniface Alexandre assumed the charge within a few hours of his resignation in a brief ceremony at the home of Prime Minister Yvon Neptune. Alexandre was raised by his uncle, former Haitian Prime Minister Martial Célestin. He trained himself as an expert lawyer, specializing in business contracts and marriage settlements and worked for twenty five years in a Port-au-Prince law firm named 'Cabinet Lamarre'. He was appointed in Haiti's Supreme Court in the 1990s and President Jean-Bertrand Aristide appointed him as the Chief Justice in 2002. As a Chief Justice, he fought against the incompetence and corruption in the judicial system and earned a reputation for fairness.

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Elie Lescot became Haiti's 31st president in 1941. Born into the mulatto elite class, Lescot began his political career after the death of his wife. He served in the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament's lower house, later becoming a political appointee under presidents Borno and Vincent.

His position as Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (DR) led him to become an ally of DR President Trujillo. Trujillo's political capital helped Lescot win the presidency, despite the Chamber of Deputies opposition of him.

Elie Lescot immediately wielded power by installing himself as Commander of the Military Guard and populating government posts with Caucasian and mulatto elites. Haiti's majority black populace detested him for his prejudice.

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Haiti, the poorest of all countries in the Western Hemisphere, has seen many Presidents since its independence in 1804. Most of them worked for their own personal benefits and some turned out to be dictators. Many of the Presidents eventually met a gruesome end but one President whose tale is sung till date was Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite.

Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite or popularly known as Florvil Hyppolite, was born in 1828. The constitutional council of Haiti elected and installed him as the President of Haiti in the year 1889. On 17th October 1889, Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite took charge of the office of President. He was a general and a career soldier but it was also reported that Florvil Hyppolite was deeply influenced by Victoire Jean-Baptiste. Victoire was the mistress of Tirésias Simon Sam. After the death of Florvil Hyppolite, Tirésias Simon Sam became the President of Haiti.

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Dumarsais Estime, Haiti's 33rd president, held office for four years. His presidency is notable because he was the first black leader elected after the U.S. occupation ended in 1934.

Although Estimé married a mulatto elite, his determined educated blacks were to make up the majority of his administration's political appointees. Reversing mulatto elite influence, he championed an education initiative, building schools in poverty-ridden villages and offering advanced teacher-training. This effort created a 45% rise in elementary school attendance.

Dumarsais Estime's agenda included road-construction projects, literacy programs, and improving community services. He also amended the Constitution to provide workers the right to form unions and raised the minimum wage.

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He was first elected to the post of Haiti's President with a staggering 88% of the popular vote. René Préval again ran for president as the Lespwa candidate but, unlike his first election, this proved not to be a clear-cut victory. When early voting results were released on February 9, they indicated a 60% favorable voting for Préval. This number slipped to 48.7% as more ballots came in and a run-off became necessary.

There were celebrations soon after for the former president, but his comment on February 14, that fraud was at play in the vote counting and that he should be declared the winner of the first round, caused a series of protests to erupt. Port-au-Prince was crippled by torched barricades and protestors stormed the Hotel Montana, demanding the results of the election. Finally, on the 16th, after excluding blank ballots from the count, President Préval officially won his second term as the Haitian head of state with 51.15% of the votes.

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