Manigat - Haiti Observer Blog

The period between the end of the Duvalier regime and the reformation of the Haitian government as a democracy was met with several political turmoil in the form of military power and coup d'état. Three presidents were removed from their post after serving for only a few months or years during this time of chaos. Professor Leslie Manigat was the president after Duvalier who was eventually ousted after only four months in office, having one of the shortest terms in Haitian history.

With efforts to bring Haiti back to its feet, a presidential election organized by the military was held in 1988. Leslie Manigat win against ten other presidential candidates was met with mixed reactions and criticisms. Despite this, the professor was inaugurated as president a month after. His term in office was then cut short by Haitian General Henri Namphy with a successful coup d'état, after the former removed the general as army commander. He again ran in the 2006 presidential elections but lost to René Préval, having a mere 12.4% of the votes.

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Leslie Manigat who features in the history of Haiti as the 43rd president is one of the significant icons in the history of Haiti. He was born in 1931 and is a teacher by profession. Though his reign was short-lived lasting from February 1988 to June 1988, he is one of the presidents who have risen to the throne through a democratic election. He overpowered Henri Namphy in 1988 general elections but he was overthrown by the same person in 1988 through a coup d'etat.

Leslie Manigat has been a prominent scholar and has a slew of books and thesis to his name. He is also known with his significant contribution in Haiti's Newspapers through article writing. His teaching career has paved his way to prominent universities around the globe. He has lectured at Yale University, University of Paris, University of West Indies and Johns Hopkins University. Majoring in history, he has made significant impact among many students as he is quite rich in the subject. His involvement in essay writing also made him rank high in Literature which has attracted a Grand Prize in Literature at Book Fair Miami.

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