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François
Duvalier, Jean-Claude Duvalier
290408 -
Born: 14 April 1907
Birthplace: Port-au-Prince,
Haiti
Died: 22 April 1971
Best Known As: President of
Haiti, 1957-71
Answers -
François Duvalier (1907-1971) was Haitian president for life.
Trained as a physician and known to his people as "Papa Doc,"
Duvalier dominated his country and its institutions as no other
Haitian chief executive.
Little is known of the origins of François Duvalier. Though some
of his ancestors came from Martinique, his parents were Haitians,
and he was born in Petit-Goâve in southern Haiti. An early
Haitian Africanist, he was one of the founders of the Haitian
intellectual Griot movement of the 1930s, and he built a
reputation as a scholar, ethnologist, and folklorist.
Duvalier graduated in 1934 from the Haitian National University
Medical School. He was active in the U.S. Army - directed
sanitary programs initiated in Haiti during World War II. In
1944-1945 he studied at the University of Michigan. After
returning to Haiti, Duvalier became minister of health and labor
in President Dumarsais Estimé's government. After opposing Paul
Magloire's coup d'etat in 1950, Duvalier returned to the
practice of medicine, especially the anti-yaws and malaria
campaigns. In 1954 he abandoned medicine and went into hiding in
the Haitian backcountry, until a Magloire amnesty granted to all
political opponents in 1956 enabled him to emerge from hiding.
He immediately declared his candidacy for the next elections.
Accession to Power
Duvalier had a solid base of support in the countryside and,
like the campaigns of the other candidates, his was based on
national reconciliation and reconstruction. He made various
tactical alliances with one or more of the other candidates, won
the army to his cause, and finally overwhelmed Louis Déjoie, his
main opponent, in what turned out to be the quietest and most
accurate election in Haiti's history.
In spite of this auspicious start, Duvalier's government was
dogged by problems. The defeated candidates refused to cooperate
with him and, from hiding, encouraged violence and disobedience.
After Fidel Castro came to power, Cuba began to harbor various
Haitian refugees, who had escaped the increasingly harsh
Duvalier regime. Furthermore, Gen. Rafael Trujillo, dictator of
the Dominican Republic and archfoe of Castro, feared a Cuban
invasion through Haiti, and this concern led to Dominican
meddling in Haitian affairs.
It was during this period that Duvalier created an organization
directly responsible to him, the tontonmacoutes (TTM), the
Haitian version of a secret police. Through the late 1950s to
the middle 1960s this force continued to grow and through
brutality and terrorism helped to reduce elements which might
oppose Duvalier.
In the 1961 Assembly elections Duvalier had his name placed on
the top of the ballots. After the "election" he interpreted this
impromptu act as a further mandate of 6 years. In the words of
the New York Times of May 13, 1961, "Latin America has witnessed
many fraudulent elections … but none will have been more
outrageous than the one which has just taken place in Haiti."
After the 1961 elections the American government made it clear
that the United States regarded those elections as fraudulent
and that Duvalier's legal term should end in 1963. During 1962
the American AID Mission was withdrawn from Haiti, and by April
1963 an American fleet maneuvered close to Port-au-Prince. On
May 15, to show its disapproval of Duvalier's continued presence,
the United States suspended diplomatic relations. At the same
time, with Haitian-Dominican relations at a low ebb, Duvalier's
pledged ideological enemy, President Juan Bosch of the Dominican
Republic, was threatening to invade Haiti. Even the Organization
of the American States (OAS) became involved, sending a fact-finding
mission to Haiti. However, Duvalier remained firmly in control,
the Dominicans backed down, and a few days later the American
ambassador was withdrawn.
President for Life
After the election of 1961 and the "continuation" of 1963, it
was only a matter of time before Duvalier moved to have himself
installed for life as Haitian president. "Responding" to just
such a request, Duvalier consented on April 1, 1964. Duvalier's
rubber-stamp Legislative Chamber rewrote the 1957 Constitution,
specifically altering Article 197 so that he could be declared
president for life. A "referendum" was held, and on June 22,
1964, Duvalier was formally invested.
After that time Haitian political life was relatively
anticlimactic. Having dominated his country and in the process
thwarted the United States, the OAS, and the Dominican Republic,
Duvalier was in complete control. During the 1960s he survived
several disastrous hurricanes and several opéra-bouffe "invasions."
A small, gray-haired man, Duvalier was suffering from chronic
heart disease and diabetes. In January 1971 he induced the
National Assembly to change the constitution to allow his son,
Jean Claude Duvalier, to succeed him. Duvalier died on April 21,
1971, and his son succeeded him without difficulty.
Further Reading
Useful works on Duvalier and his
government include Leslie F. Manigat, Haiti of the Sixties
(1964); Jean-Pierre O. Gingras, Duvalier: Caribbean Cyclone
(1967); Al Burt and Bernard Diederich, Papa Doc (1969); and
Robert I. Rotberg and Christopher K. Clague, Haiti: The Politics of
Squalor (1971). Among the several excellent background books on
Haiti are
Melville J. Herskovits's classic sociological study
Life in a Haitian Valley (1937); Rayford W. Logan, The Diplomatic
Relations of the United States with Haiti, 1776-1891 (1941); Hugh B.
Cave's delightful travelog, Haiti: Highroad to Adventure (1952);
Seldon Rodman, Haiti: The Black Republic (1954; rev. ed. 1961);
and James H. McCroklin's monographic work on the U.S. Marine occupation
period, Garde d'Haiti, 1915-1934 (1956). An excellent source of
information on anything Haitian is James G. Leyburn, The Haitian
People (1941; rev. ed. 1966). This classic scholarly work presents
an interpretive overview of the history, culture, and society of Haiti
and is brought up to date with a new foreword by Sidney W. Mintz.
AKA 'Papa Doc' (François); AKA 'Baby Doc'
(Jean-Claude).
Country: Haiti.
Kill
tally: 20,000-60,000.
Background: Haiti gains its independent
on 1 January 1804, becoming the world's first black republic. Its
history then follows a pattern of violence and political instability,
with a succession of rulers being overthrown by revolution or
assassinated.
At the start of the 20th Century the
United States becomes involved in Haiti's internal affairs. US
marines occupy Haiti from 1915-1934. Indirect US influence lasts to
1947.
Mini
biography: François Duvalier is born on
14 April 1907 in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. His father is a
teacher and journalist. His mother works in a bakery.
Duvalier studies medicine at the
University of Haiti. He graduates in 1934. Working as a doctor he is
given the nickname 'Papa Doc' by his patients.
While recognised as a humanitarian and
intellectual, Duvalier also develops a deep interest in the African
roots of Haitian culture, helping to found 'Le Groupe des Griots', a
group of writers committed to black nationalism and voodoo mysticism, in
1938.
Among the poor and the superstitious
Duvalier will gain a reputation as a practitioner of voodoo sorcery.
1939
- Duvalier marries Simone Ovide Faine, a nurse, on 27 December. The
couple will have four children, three daughters (Marie Denise, Simone
and Nicole) and a son (Jean-Claude).
1943
- He participates in a US-sponsored campaign to control the contagious
tropical disease yaws, an infection of the skin, bones and joints.
1946
- Duvalier joins the government of President Dumarsais Estimé, becoming
director general of the national public health service. In 1948 he is
appointed as minister of public health and labour.
1950
- President Estimé is overthrown in a military coup on 10 May. Duvalier
returns to his medical career. Behind the scenes, however, he begins
organising against the military regime. By 1954 he is the central
opposition figure and goes underground, hiding in the interior.
1951
- Jean-Claude Duvalier is born on 3 July in Port-au-Prince.
1956
- The military relinquishes power in December. A general political
amnesty allows Duvalier to come out of hiding. Six governments are
formed in the following 10 months.
1957
- With army backing, Duvalier is elected president for a six year term
on 22 September. He promises to end the privileges of the mulatto elite
and bring political and economic power to the black masses. However, the
political climate remains unstable.
1958
- After an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow him in June, Duvalier takes
steps to consolidate his position. Senior officers in the military are
replaced with younger men, the size of the army is reduced, the military
academy is closed, political parties are banned and curfews are
introduced.
Duvalier also takes control of the
Presidential Guard, turning it into the army's elite unit.
With chief aide Clément Barbot, he
organises the Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (Volunteers for
National Security), or Tonton Macoutes (Bogeymen), a private militia
estimated to number 9,000-15,000 that will be used to terrorise and
murder opponents.
Recruits are drawn initially from the
slums of Port-au-Prince. They receive no salary, relying instead on
protection rackets and crime to support themselves. The Tonton Macoutes
act as Duvalier's front-line security force and as a balance to the
political power of the armed forces. Their chain of command reaches
directly to the Presidential Palace.
1959
- Duvalier suffers a heart attack in May. Barbot acts in his place but
is promptly imprisoned when Duvalier recovers.
On 12 August a group of Cuban guerrillas
and Haitian exiles lands on the southern most tip of the country in
another attempt to remove Duvalier. They are defeated by the Haitian
Army, with the aid of US marines.
1961
- Duvalier manipulates elections to have his term extended to 1967,
winning the vote with an official tally of 1,320,748 votes to zero.
"Latin America has witnessed many
fraudulent elections," the 'New York Times' reports on 13 May, "But none
will have been more outrageous than the one which has just taken place
in Haiti."
Following the election, the US raises
concerns about the misappropriation of aid money by Duvalier. In 1962 US
aid is suspended. The following year diplomatic relations are also
suspended and the US ambassador withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Barbot is released from prison.
He begins plotting to overthrow Duvalier but the attempt, which is to
take place in July 1963, is uncovered at the last moment and Barbot is
killed.
1963
- Attempts to remove Duvalier continue, reportedly with backing from the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Duvalier's leadership becomes more
extreme. He fosters a personality cult, exploiting his reputation as a
sorcerer and portraying himself as semidivine, the embodiment of the
Haitian nation, a voodoo Jesus Christ.
"I am the Haitian flag," Duvalier
proclaims, "He who is my enemy is the enemy of the fatherland."
With corruption endemic, the elite gets
richer and the poor suffer badly. The per capita annual income sinks to
US$80, the lowest in the western hemisphere. The illiteracy rate remains
at about 90%.
1964
- Duvalier has himself elected president for life in April. Haiti is now
almost completely isolated. Duvalier's isolation is more profound. He is
excommunicated by the Vatican for harassing the clergy and will not be
readmitted to the Church until 1966.
Discontent with the regime continues to
grow, despite the tight security imposed by the Tonton Macoutes.
Conspiracies and dissent proliferate. Duvalier responds with a reign of
terror and is able to stay in power longer than any of his predecessors.
1971
- The constitution is amended in January to permit Duvalier to name his
son, Jean-Claude, as his successor. Jean-Claude comes to be known as 'Baby
Doc', echoing his father's nickname.
François Duvalier dies on 21 April in
Port-au-Prince. Power is transferred to Jean-Claude, who, at the age of
19, becomes the youngest president in the world.
However, Jean-Claude is not interested in
the details of government and leaves much of the running of the country
to his mother, Simone Ovid Duvalier, and his dead father's cronies.
Bending to pressure from the US, and at
home, Jean-Claude agrees to economic and judicial reforms, the reopening
of the military academy, the release of some political prisoners and the
easing of media censorship. But no political opposition is tolerated and
the president retains the power to appoint officials and judges.
Though US aid is restored, Haiti remains
diplomatically isolated. Corruption reaches new heights. The US Commerce
Department reports misappropriation of 64% of Haiti's government
revenues. Tens of millions of dollars are diverted from public funds for
"extra-budgetary expenses," including deposits to Jean-Claude's Swiss
bank accounts.
1980
- In May Jean-Claude marries Michéle Bennett. The lavish wedding,
estimated to cost US$3 million, and marriage alienate much of the
population. Bennett is considered to be an elite mulatto and her family
is implicated in corrupt business ventures, including drug running.
1983
- On a visit to Haiti in March Pope John Paul II declares that "something
must change here."
1985
- Jean-Claude gets 99% of the vote in a fraudulent election. Popular
demonstrations against high unemployment, poor living conditions and the
lack of political freedom break out late in the year and early in 1986,
beginning in the provincial capital of Gonaives.
On 28 November 1985 soldiers in Gonaives
chase demonstrators into a schoolyard and shoot and kill three
schoolboys who were not involved in the protest. The incident leads to
more demonstrations and riots.
1986
- With the Tonton Macoutes unable to repress the mounting social unrest
and the military pressing for his resignation, Jean-Claude and his wife
accept assistance from the US and flee the country for France on 7
February. The couple take up residence in a villa in Mougins, near
Cannes. They will later divorce.
Jean-Claude leaves behind an impoverished
and ruined country. Well over half of Haiti's workers are unemployed.
Over 80% of Haitians are illiterate. Almost a third of Haitian children
die before their fifth birthday. Life expectancy is 53 years. Per capita
income is US$300 a year.
2002
- In a television interview broadcast in the US on 17 December Jean-Claude
reveals that he would like to return to Haiti. "It is my firm intention
as soon as conditions allow," he says, adding that he wants to take part
in "rebuilding" Haiti.
According to Jean-Claude, there are no
legal reasons for him not to return. He claims that Haiti has "gone
backward by 50 years" since he fled the country and calls on the current
president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to retire.
"(Aristide) does not have the possibility
of ruling Haiti any more," Jean-Claude says, "He has been rejected by
the vast majority of the population. He should, according to me, retire.
...
"People are suffering a lot. It is not
bearable. It is revolting. I know parents who can't have their children
go to school any more. Some families eat every other day."
When questioned about his alleged
misappropriation of tens of millions of dollars of Haiti's state funds,
Jean-Claude challenges his accusers to provide the evidence.
2003
- Jean-Claude tells the 'Wall Street Journal' that he neither stole
state funds nor organised the murder of opponents. "If I were dictator,
I would have done everything in my power to stay in power," he says.
"I laugh when I hear the amounts: $400
million, $800 million. It's a lot of blah, blah, blah. ... There were
the children to care for, school expenses, other bills. ... We were not
perfect. Perhaps I was too tolerant."
2004
- On 29 April President Aristide is forced out of office by an armed
rebellion. Jean-Claude quickly restates his wish to return to Haiti,
telling a French journalist on 1 March that he wants to put himself "at
the disposal of the Haitian people."
"I think I'm getting close and that I
will soon have the opportunity to go back to my country," Jean-Claude
says, revealing that he had requested a diplomatic passport several
weeks earlier.
According to Duvalier, while he is in
constant communication with contacts in Haiti, he is not involved with
the rebel movement and is not planning to run for president if he
returns.
Meanwhile, on 25 March the international
anticorruption organisation Transparency International (TI) places Jean-Claude
at number six on a list of the world's most corrupt political leaders of
the past two decades.
According to TI, Jean-Claude is alleged
to have embezzled between US$300 million and US$800 million from Haiti.
2007
- In September the Transparency International estimates are quoted in a
report by the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative, a joint venture of the
World Bank and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.
"According to the numbers ... Jean-Claude
Duvalier allegedly stole the equivalent of 1.7 to 4.5 percent of Haitian
GDP for every year he was in power," the report says. "The only other
two kleptocrats to come close as a percentage of GDP were Ferdinand
Marcos (of the Philippines) and Sani Abacha (of Nigeria)."
More information
Links are to external sites.
Haiti - A Country Study (Library
of Congress Country Studies Series)
Bob Corbett's Haiti Page
Page created on 24 February 2001. Reviewed 14 November
2007. Updated 23 November 2007.
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