Henri Namphy - 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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Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy died Tuesday afternoon in the Dominican Republic from lung cancer, according to his niece Elisabeth Delatour Préval. Namphy lived in exile in the Dominican Republic following the 1988 coup. He never returned to Haiti. He died at the age of 85.

Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy was head of interim National Council of Government that took charge of Haiti on Feb. 7 1986, after Dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier fled into exile in France. He briefly served as president before his ouster in a military coup. Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril, would replace Namphy in another coup led by members of the Haitian Armed Forces.

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Paul Magloire, Haiti's 35th president, was born in 1907, heir of a military father. He followed his father's career path, enlisting in the army and rising to Chief of Police in Port-au-Prince.

Paul Magloire played a pivotal role in overthrowing two Haitian presidents, Élie Lescot and his successor, Dumarsais Estimé. President Estimé, in a fruitless effort to draw out his time in office, attempted to amend the Constitution. The mulatto elite aided Magloire in deposing Estimé. Magloire then took the reins of power as President of Haiti.

During his term, Paul Magloire poured money into tourism, Haiti becoming known as a desirable vacation destination for foreign travelers. Imposing a tax on coffee-bean exports, he used the monies for development projects, raising living standards of the impoverished, as well as improving city services. Most notably, he gave the right-to-vote to women. In foreign policy, he forged stronger relations with the Dominican Republic, reversing the violent and unstable history they had shared in the past.

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Prosper Avril rose to power through his close association with the most powerful family in Haiti.

In 1969 he joined the Presidential Guard. In 1971 he became the personal body guard and close confidante of Jean Claude Duvalier. Prosper Avril was born on December 12th, 1937.

Favorite of the Duvaliers

Avril was in charge of the overseas management. It is said that he was the only other person who had signature authority other than the Duvaliers. This authority was given to handle their foreign accounts. He was called the "bagman" by the Duvaliers.

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Born on November 2nd 1932 at Cap- Haitien, Henri Namphy was another military leader who became the president of Haiti. In the army he rose to the post of a general. His first stint in the political area was as the President of Haiti during a period where the interim body ruled.

Interim Council

The interim body was the National Council of Government and they ruled from February 1986 to February 1988. This interim council consisted of six civilians and six military personnel. This interim body assured elections and reforms that would be people friendly.

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Leslie Francois Saint Roc Manigat was the full name of Leslie Manigat and he was born on August 16th 1930 in Port-au-Prince. He was an educator and a professor of world history and worked at the I'Universite' de Paris- VIII Vincennes.

An Academician

Leslie Manigat published articles in many Haitian newspapers. Even though his interest was in the field of education, he had a stint in the political stage of Haiti. He contested for the post of the President along with ten other candidates.

This election which was held on January 17th 1988 was a military held election and it was completely under their control. Leslie Manigat won with 50.29% of votes but the voter turnout was very poor, less than 10%. The military controlled election must have been the reason for the poor turnout.

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Herard Abraham was born on July 28th 1940 in Port-au-Prince. At a very young age he enlisted himself into the Haitian army. He rose in the ranks of the army and also had a short stint in politics. So he can be called an army man and a political figure.

Foreign Minister

Hérard Abraham rose to the position of Lieutenant General of the Haitian Force Arme D'Haiti and became a close member of the inner circle of the Duvalier family.

In spite of being close to the Duvalier Family, Herard Abraham joined hands with the new president Henri Namphy. He served as the foreign minister in the new government, his first political post.

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The Haitian government is led by a president, who shares his/her executive power with the prime minister. Once elected by popular vote, the president will run the country for five years. After the term, the president could not run in the next election. He/she has to wait for five years in order to seek a second term. Haiti presidents can only serve for a maximum of two terms.

Not everyone can run for president as there are certain qualifications and requirements to be eligible for the seat. Only candidates with Haitian citizenship by birth can run for the position, as well as those who are at least 35 years of age. Jail sentence, loss of civil rights and lack of property ownership and residency can make a candidate ineligible to assume the position.

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Duvalierist - Henri Namphy - 1986 - 1988 - Manigat - Coup D'Detat - Prosper Avril - General -

The 42nd and 44th president of Haiti, Henri Namphy, who reigned over Haiti for the period between 1986 to 1988 and June 1988 to September 1988, is one of the remarkable figures in Haiti's presidency. During his first reign, he got himself on the throne through National Council of Government that kicked Duvalier out power.

Henri Namphy was not at peace immediately after taking over from Duvalier who had declared himself as the president for life. Strikes and riots were the order of the day and he reacted harshly through sucking top government officials who were diehard royals of his predecessor. His reign was unanimously referred to as the "Duvalierism rule without Duvalier" as he was no better than his predecessor. After a while, however, he was able to put everything under control and secured a two year reign to the beginning of 1988.

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Baby Doc Jean Claude Duvalier was the son of Papa Doc Francois Duvalier, the 40th Haitian president who was a famous dictator and had once proclaimed to be the President for life. Jean Claude Duvalier took over the throne after his father's death in 1971 at the age of 19 years. He remains to be the youngest president ever to have reigned over any state or country.

After his rise to power, Baby Doc Jean Claude Duvalier initiated some changes which were drawing Haiti closer to democratic leadership. He released some of the political prisoners who had been jailed, replaced the cabinet members with younger ones and made press quite independent. However, he was no better than his father as he pinned down any opposition and appointment of major government officials were still under his control. His mother, Simone, also offered vital political support to ensure that his son remained in power. To some extent, it worked out well as Baby Doc Jean Claude Duvalier managed to survive on the throne till 1986.

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