National Palace - Haiti Observer Blog

Anthony Barbier who has been present and involved in all the activities of President Jocelerme Privert has been named general secretary of the National Palace. He will replace Jean Renel Sanon

On Thursday, February 18, 2016, Anthony Barbier has been installed as the Secretary General of the National Palace, replacing Jean Renel Sanon. He was solemnized by Enex Jean Charles, the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers. Anthony is the husband of well known Haitian journalist Liliane Pierre-Paul, who was very much critical of Martelly administration. M Barber holds a Masters in Sociology of development and a PhD in Education. His predecessor, Jean Renel Salmon was not present during his installation ceremony.

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Whoever said love only happens once had certainly not read about the twice divorced former Haitian President René Préval and his wife Elisabeth, the widow of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti's former governor, Leslie Delatour. Indeed, no strangers to matrimony at sixty-six and forty-seven respectively, the two took the familiar vows, made fresh by their new commitment to each other, on Sunday December 6, 2009 at the Delatour home in Furcy, Haiti at 11am. It was an intimate ceremony, with only fifty guests. They followed it by honeymooning for two days and then took up residence in the National Palace on December 9.

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Michel Cincinnatus Leconte, descendent of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first head of state of the new Republic of Haiti, assumed the office of the presidency, backed by Parliament in August 1911. Prior to his ascendency, Leconte had been appointed Minister of the Interior by President Pierre Nord Alexis, but was pressured to flee to Jamaica when a coup ran Alexis out of office in 1908. François Antoine Simon then held the office.

By 1911 Cincinnatus Leconte returned, amassing an army to remove Simon from office by force. He was successful, arriving in Port-au-Prince a hero. In gratitude, Parliament ushered him into office, with an unprecedented seven-year term.

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Another big and prominent name has been dragged into an ongoing kidnapping case involving business tycoon Clifford Brandt. According to reports, Brandt, one of the main suspects in the crime, claimed that Marc-Arthur Phebe was the mastermind behind the kidnappings. Phebe is a National Police officer, as well as the head of the National Palace's CAT Team. He is also Brandt's family security chief.

In order to defend himself, Phebe sought the services of lawyer Carlos Hercule, who is the president of the Federation of Bar Associations. This move is seen to favor Phebe as Hercule is considered one of the most powerful lawyers in the country.

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After two years when relations with France were restored, Michel Martelly, President accompanied by Laurent Lamothe, Prime Minister, Didier Lebret, France Ambassador and Jean Mario Dupuy, Minister of Culture, all got together last Friday to welcome the Serment des Ancêtres painting

Symbolism of the Painting

They were welcomed to the table on which lay 'Serment des Ancetres' at the airport Toussaint Louverture's diplomatic lounge. The 'Serment des Ancetres' is the painting work of Guillaume Guillon-Lethiere (1760 -1830) painter in the year 1822.

The painting symbolizes the historical meeting between Lieutenant Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Black General, Alexandre Petion and Saint Domingue, the head of mullattoes. In November 1802, the Lieutenant Toussaint Louverture sealed an alliance to get the French troops ousted.

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This is the end of an era once again in the history of Haiti. The Government announced that the non-profit aid group of Sean Penn will oversee the demolition of the wrecked National Palace, free of charge. According to Government spokesperson, Lucien Jura, Penn's J/P HRO group will begin the demolition in the next 10 days. Sean Penn holds the title as ambassador-at-large for Haiti.

The crumbled Haiti National Palace has symbolized the level of destruction that took place in the Port-au-Prince area following the 2010 earthquake. Thousands of buildings were destroyed and over 200,000 people died.

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Michel Oreste was born on 8th April 1859 in Jacmel. Michel valued education in his leadership. Michel had served in various positions in the Haitian government and was serving as a senator when he was appointed. He was known for taking part in all the debates that brought good changes to Haiti. Due to this the national assembly of Haiti appointed Michel as the acting president of Haiti after the death of President Leconte. On May 4, 1913, Michel was officially elected as the president of Haiti for a seven year term.

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