Haitiportal |
This article lists the prime ministers of Haiti since the establishment of the office of Prime Minister of Haiti in 1988.
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Election | Term of office | Political party | President (Term) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
1 | Martial Célestin (1913–2011) | 1988 | 9 February 1988 | 20 June 1988 [lower-alpha 1] | 132 days | Independent | Leslie Manigat (1988) | ||
Post vacant (20 June 1988 – 13 February 1991) | |||||||||
2 | René Préval (1943–2017) | 1990–91 | 13 February 1991 | 11 October 1991 [lower-alpha 2] | 240 days | Struggling People's Organization | Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991) | ||
3 | Jean-Jacques Honorat (1931–2023) | — | 11 October 1991 | 19 June 1992 | 252 days | Independent | Joseph Nérette (1991–1992) | ||
4 | Marc Bazin (1932–2010) | — | 19 June 1992 | 30 August 1993 | 1 year, 72 days | Movement for the Instauration of Democracy in Haiti | Marc Bazin (1992–1993) | ||
5 | Robert Malval (born 1943) | 1993 | 30 August 1993 | 8 November 1994 | 1 year, 70 days | Independent | Émile Jonassaint (1993–1994) | ||
6 | Smarck Michel (1937–2012) | — | 8 November 1994 | 7 November 1995 | 364 days | Struggling People's Organization | Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1994–1996) | ||
7 | Claudette Werleigh (born 1946) | 1995 | 7 November 1995 | 27 February 1996 | 112 days | Struggling People's Organization | |||
8 | Rosny Smarth (born 1940) | — | 27 February 1996 | 20 October 1997 | 1 year, 235 days | Struggling People's Organization | René Préval (1996–2001) | ||
Post vacant (20 October 1997 – 26 March 1999) | |||||||||
9 | Jacques-Édouard Alexis (born 1947) | 1997 | 26 March 1999 | 2 March 2001 | 1 year, 341 days | Fanmi Lavalas | |||
10 | Jean Marie Chérestal (born 1947) | 2000 | 2 March 2001 | 15 March 2002 | 1 year, 13 days | Fanmi Lavalas | Jean-Bertrand Aristide (2001–2004) | ||
11 | Yvon Neptune (born 1946) | — | 15 March 2002 | 12 March 2004 [lower-alpha 3] | 1 year, 363 days | Fanmi Lavalas | |||
12 | Gérard Latortue (1934–2023) | — | 12 March 2004 | 9 June 2006 | 2 years, 89 days | Independent | Boniface Alexandre (2004–2006) | ||
(9) | Jacques-Édouard Alexis (born 1947) | 2006 | 9 June 2006 | 5 September 2008 | 2 years, 88 days | Lespwa | René Préval (2006–2011) | ||
13 | Michèle Pierre-Louis (born 1947) | — | 5 September 2008 | 11 November 2009 | 1 year, 67 days | Independent | |||
14 | Jean-Max Bellerive (born 1958) | — | 11 November 2009 | 18 October 2011 | 1 year, 341 days | Lespwa | |||
15 | Garry Conille (born 1966) | 2010–11 | 18 October 2011 | 16 May 2012 | 211 days | Independent | Michel Martelly (2011–2016) | ||
16 | Laurent Lamothe (born 1972) | — | 16 May 2012 | 20 December 2014 | 2 years, 218 days | Independent | |||
— | Florence Duperval Guillaume | — | 20 December 2014 | 16 January 2015 | 27 days | Independent | |||
17 | Evans Paul (born 1955) | — | 16 January 2015 | 26 February 2016 | 1 year, 41 days | Democratic Alliance Party | |||
18 | Fritz Jean (born 1953) | 2015–16 | 26 February 2016 | 28 March 2016 | 31 days | Inite | Jocelerme Privert (2016–2017) | ||
19 | Enex Jean-Charles (born 1960) | — | 28 March 2016 | 21 March 2017 | 358 days | Independent | |||
20 | Jack Guy Lafontant (born 1961) | — | 21 March 2017 | 17 September 2018 | 1 year, 180 days | Democratic Movement of Haiti – Democratic Rally of Haiti [1] | Jovenel Moïse (2017–2021) | ||
21 | Jean-Henry Céant (born 1956) | — | 17 September 2018 | 21 March 2019 | 185 days | Renmen Ayiti [2] | |||
— | Jean-Michel Lapin (born 1967) | — | 21 March 2019 | 4 March 2020 | 349 days | Independent | |||
22 | Joseph Jouthe (born 1961) | — | 4 March 2020 | 13 April 2021 | 1 year, 40 days | Independent | |||
— | Claude Joseph | — | 14 April 2021 | 20 July 2021 [lower-alpha 4] | 97 days | Independent | |||
— | Ariel Henry (born 1949) | — | 20 July 2021 | 24 April 2024 [3] | 2 years, 279 days | Independent | Position vacant (2021–2024) | ||
— | Michel Patrick Boisvert | — | 25 February 2024 | 3 June 2024 | 99 days [lower-alpha 5] | Independent | |||
— | Garry Conille (born 1966) | — | 3 June 2024 | Incumbent | 84 days | Independent | Transitional Presidential Council (2024–present) |
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.
The politics of Haiti takes place in the framework of a unitary semi-presidential republic, where the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. The politics of Haiti are considered historically unstable due to various coups d'état, regime changes, military juntas and internal conflicts. After Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed, Haitian politics became relatively stable. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Haiti an "authoritarian regime" in 2022. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Haiti is 2023 the 4th least electoral democratic country in Latin America.
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.
The president of Haiti, officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti, is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of Haiti.[A133] The Transitional Presidential Council has been exercising the powers of the presidency since 25 April 2024. It has a mandate to act that concludes on 7 February 2026.
Michel Joseph Martelly is a Haitian musician and politician who was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. On August 20, 2024, the United States sanctioned the former president for trafficking drugs, in particular cocaine, into the United States, and for sponsoring several gangs based in Haiti.
General elections were planned to take place in Haiti sometime in 2019, though they did not take place. The parliamentary elections had originally been scheduled for 27 October 2019, but were postponed to 26 September 2021. The elections were then postponed again to 7 November 2021. General elections were scheduled to be held in Haiti on 7 November 2021 to elect the president and Parliament, alongside a constitutional referendum. However, in September 2021, they were postponed following the dismissal of the members of the Provisional Electoral Council by acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Prime Minister Henry later stated that he hoped to hold the elections in early 2022. On 8 February 2022, he called for renewed efforts to organize elections. In December 2022, he signed an agreement to hold the elections in 2023, but stated in February 2024 that they will be held once the security situation was under control. Henry later committed to hold the elections by August 2025, but resigned in April 2024 to make way for a transitional presidential council, which is expected to hold the presidential election in early 2026.
Protests began in cities throughout Haiti on 7 July 2018 in response to increased fuel prices. Over time, these protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse, the then-president of Haiti. Led by opposition politician Jean-Charles Moïse, protesters stated that their goals were to create a transitional government, provide social programs, and prosecute allegedly corrupt officials. From 2019 to 2021, massive protests called for the Jovenel Moïse government to resign. Moïse had come in first in the 2016 presidential election, for which voter turnout was 21%. The 2015 elections had been annulled due to fraud. On 7 February 2021, supporters of the opposition allegedly attempted a coup d'état, leading to 23 arrests, as well as clashes between protestors and police.
Claude Joseph is a Haitian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship from 4 March 2020 to 24 November 2021, and served as acting prime minister of Haiti from 14 April 2021 to 20 July 2021.
The 2021 Malian coup d'état began on the night of 24 May 2021 when the Malian Army led by Vice President Assimi Goïta captured President Bah N'daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Minister of Defence Souleymane Doucouré. Assimi Goïta, the head of the junta that led the 2020 Malian coup d'état, announced that N'daw and Ouane were stripped of their powers and that new elections would be held in 2022. It is the country's third coup d'état in ten years, following the 2012 and 2020 military takeovers, with the latter having happened only nine months earlier.
Ariel Henry is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the acting prime minister after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, until his formal resignation on 24 April 2024. During this period where the role of the head of state was vacant, the Council of Ministers he presided exercised executive power. He also served as the acting Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities.
Presidential elections were scheduled to be held in Mali on 27 February 2022, following a 2021 coup. After being postponed, in July 2022 the elections were rescheduled for 4 February 2024. In September 2023, the junta stated that the elections would be "slightly postponed for technical reasons".
Events in the year 2024 in Haiti.
Michel Patrick Boisvert is a Haitian civil servant and politician who served as the interim Prime Minister of Haiti from 25 February to 3 June 2024. The Transitional Presidential Council, inaugurated on 25 April, has the power to replace him, and did so on 3 June 2024 after it appointed Garry Conille as Prime Minister. Boisvert has served as Minister of Economy and Finance since 2020, initially in the cabinets of Joseph Jouthe, Claude Joseph, and Ariel Henry. Boisvert previously served as director-general of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from 2018 to 2020. Amid the February–March 2024 escalation of the Haitian crisis, Boisvert has served as acting prime minister, overseeing the operations of Henry's government during his absence from the country. Following Henry's formal resignation on 24 April 2024, Boisvert continued to serve as acting prime minister of Haiti.
The Transitional Presidential Council is a temporary body constituted on 12 April 2024 and sworn in on 25 April to exercise the powers and duties of the President of Haiti either until an elected president is inaugurated or until 7 February 2026, whichever comes first.