Bernardin Poisson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948 (age 75–76) Haiti |
| Allegiance |  Haiti |
| Service/ | Armed Forces of Haiti |
| Years of service | ?–1995 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Commands held | Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Haiti |
Bernardin Poisson (born 1948) is a retired Haitian military officer, who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Haiti from 17 November 1994 to 20 February 1995, during the Operation Uphold Democracy. [1] [2] [3]
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of The Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is 27,750 km2 (10,714 sq mi), the third largest country in the Caribbean, and has an estimated population of 11.4 million, making it the most populous Caribbean country. The capital is Port-au-Prince.
The recorded history of Haiti began in 1492, when the European captain and explorer Christopher Columbus landed on a large island in the region of the western Atlantic Ocean that later came to be known as the Caribbean. The western portion of the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti is situated, was inhabited by the Taíno and Arawakan people, who called their island Ayiti. The island was promptly claimed for the Spanish Crown, where it was named La Isla Española, later Latinized to Hispaniola. By the early 17th century, the French had built a settlement on the west of Hispaniola and called it Saint-Domingue. Prior to the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the economy of Saint-Domingue gradually expanded, with sugar and, later, coffee becoming important export crops. After the war which had disrupted maritime commerce, the colony underwent rapid expansion. In 1767, it exported indigo, cotton and 72 million pounds of raw sugar. By the end of the century, the colony encompassed a third of the entire Atlantic slave trade.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. As a priest, he taught liberation theology and, as a president, he attempted to normalize Afro-Creole culture, including Vodou religion, in Haiti. Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies to become a priest. He became a focal point for the pro-democracy movement first under Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier and then under the military transition regime which followed. He won the 1990–91 Haitian general election, with 67% of the vote.
Joseph Raoul Cédras is a Haitian former military officer who was the de facto ruler of Haiti from 1991 to 1994. Cedras was the last military ruler of Haiti.
A coup d'état in Haiti on 29 February 2004, following several weeks of conflict, resulted in the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. On 5 February, a rebel group, called the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti, took control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves. By 22 February, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien and were besieging the capital, Port-au-Prince by the end of February. On the morning of 29 February, Aristide resigned under controversial circumstances and was flown from Haiti by U.S. military and security personnel. He went into exile, being flown directly to the Central African Republic, before eventually settling in South Africa.
Boniface Alexandre was a Haitian politician. Alexandre served as the provisional president of Haiti following the 2004 coup d'état that removed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. He served until May 2006.
Operation Uphold Democracy was a multinational military intervention designed to remove the military regime led and installed by Raoul Cédras after the 1991 Haitian coup d'état overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by the 31 July 1994 United Nations Security Council Resolution 940.
Matthieu Prosper Avril is a Haitian political figure who was President of Haiti from 1988 to 1990. A trusted member of François Duvalier's Presidential Guard and adviser to Jean-Claude Duvalier, Lt. Gen. Avril led the September 1988 Haitian coup d'état against a transition military government installed after Jean-Claude Duvalier's 1986 overthrow. He was President until March 1990, in a period which according to Amnesty International was "marred by serious human rights violations". He was arrested in 2001, but released in March 2004 after the 2004 Haitian coup d'état overthrew Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Émile Jonassaint was a Haitian Supreme Court Justice and politician who served as President of the Constituent Assembly during the 1987 Constitution and President of Haiti for five months.
Robert Malval is the former prime minister of Haiti. He served from 30 August 1993 to 8 November 1994. He was preceded by Marc Bazin and was succeeded by Smarck Michel.
The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti that was in operation from 2004 to 2017. The mission's military component was led by the Brazilian Army and commanded by a Brazilian. The force was composed of 2,366 military personnel and 2,533 police, supported by international civilian personnel, a local civilian staff and United Nations Volunteers.
Michel Joseph Martelly is a Haitian musician and politician who was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016.
The United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) was a peacekeeping operation carried out by the United Nations between September 1993 and June 1996. The Mission was reestablished (MINUSTAH) in April 2004, after a rebellion took over most of Haiti and President Bertrand Aristide resigned. This mandate ended in 2017, replaced by United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), which saw the end of UN peacekeepers in Haiti after its ending in 2019.
Canada–Haiti relations are relations between Canada and the Republic of Haiti. They are the only independent French-speaking countries in the Americas. During the unsettled period from 1957 to 1990, Canada received many Haitian refugees, who now form a significant minority in Quebec. Canada participated in various international interventions in Haiti between 1994 and 2004, and continues to provide substantial aid to Haiti. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Organization of American States and the United Nations.
The 1991 Haitian coup d'état took place on 29 September 1991, when President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, elected eight months earlier in the 1990–91 Haitian general election, was deposed by the Armed Forces of Haiti. Haitian military officers, primarily Army General Raoul Cédras, Army Chief of Staff Philippe Biamby and Chief of the National Police, Michel François led the coup. Aristide was sent into exile, his life only saved by the intervention of US, French and Venezuelan diplomats. Aristide would later return to power in 1994.
Haiti's National Truth and Justice Commission began its operations in April 1995 and ended in February 1996. The country's once diverse and lively civil society had been tarnished greatly as a result of the ousting of its first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, by its military forces. This deposing of President Aristide is widely known as a coup d'état, and from 1991 to 1994, the country became known for its weak civilian government. The army was determined to return Haiti to the intimidated society existing during the Duvalier dictatorship seven years prior.
Three pro-democracy Haitian radio journalists were assassinated in Little Haiti, Miami, Florida, United States between 1991 and 1993.
Jean-Claude Duperval was a Haitian military officer, who served as the Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Haiti from 10 October to 17 November 1994, during Operation Uphold Democracy. Previously, during the military dictatorship of Raoul Cédras from 1991 to 1994, he served as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief to Cédras, whom he succeeded.
Philippe Biamby was a member of the Haitian Armed Forces High Command, Chief of Staff of the Haitian Army and deputy of Raoul Cédras during the Haitian junta of 1991 to 1994.
Commanders of the Armed Forces of Haiti since 1934 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commanders of the Guard of Haiti |
|  |
| Chiefs of the General Staff of the Army |
| |
| Commanders-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Haiti |
| |
Italics indicate interim officeholder | ||
  | This Haitian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biographical article related to the North American military is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |