Universite D'Etat D'Haiti - Haiti Observer Blog

François Duvalier, Haiti's 40th President, raised in a prosperous family and well-educated, obtained his medical degree from the University of Haiti. He was a compassionate public-health official, who brought relief to Haitians suffering outbreaks of tropical illnesses. This earned him the name Papa Doc. He retained it forever, using it as a tool of manipulation.

After Duvalier returned from exile (due to a coup of a political ally), he ran on a populist platform for the presidency. Supported by the Haitian Army, he attacked mulatto elites, aligning himself with black nationals. He won the election against Déjoie, a mulatto real-estate tycoon.

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On April 14, 1907, Francois Duvalier was born in Port-Au-Prince in Haiti. His father was once a school teacher and later, he became a judge in a municipal court. He went to Haitian National University where he graduated with a degree in Medicine in 1934. He went to advance his studies in Michigan University from 1944 to 1945. In Haiti, he was a man who liked to embrace the Haitian culture and was a leader of Griot Movement in 1930s. After graduating at Michigan, he returned back to Haiti and was appointed as the Minister for Health and Labor under President Dumarsias Estime.

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