Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ bɛʁtʁɑ̃ aʁistid]; born 15 July 1953) 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.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide | |
|---|---|
Jean-Bertrand Aristide returns to the National Palace in Port au Prince, Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy in October 1994 | |
| President of Haiti | |
| In office 4 February 2001 – 29 February 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacques-Édouard Alexis Jean Marie Chérestal Yvon Neptune |
| Preceded by | René Préval |
| Succeeded by | Boniface Alexandre |
| In office 12 October 1994 – 7 February 1996 | |
| Prime Minister | Smarck Michel Claudette Werleigh |
| Preceded by | Émile Jonassaint |
| Succeeded by | René Préval |
| In office 15 June 1993 – 12 May 1994 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Malval |
| Preceded by | Marc Bazin |
| Succeeded by | Émile Jonassaint |
| In office 7 February 1991 – 29 September 1991 | |
| Prime Minister | René Préval |
| Preceded by | Ertha Pascal-Trouillot |
| Succeeded by | Raoul Cédras |
| Leader of Fanmi Lavalas | |
| Assumed office 30 October 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 July 1953 Port-Salut, Sud, Haiti |
| Political party | Lavalas Political Organization (1991–96) Fanmi Lavalas (1996–present) |
| Spouse |
Mildred Trouillot (m. 1996) |
| Children | 2 daughters |
| Alma mater | Collège Notre-Dame State University of Haiti University of South Africa |
| Occupation | Priest |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church (Salesians of Don Bosco) |
| Ordained | 1982 |
| Laicized | 1994 |
Congregations served | St. Jean Bosco Church, Port-au-Prince |
Aristide was briefly president of Haiti, until a September 1991 military coup. The coup regime collapsed in 1994 under U.S. pressure and threat of force (Operation Uphold Democracy), and Aristide was president again from 1994 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2004. He was ousted in the 2004 coup d'état after right-wing ex-army paramilitary units invaded the country from across the Dominican border. Aristide and many others have alleged that the United States had a role in orchestrating the coup against him. In 2022, numerous Haitian and French officials told The New York Times that France and the United States had effectively overthrown Aristide by pressuring him to step down, though this was denied by James Brendan Foley, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti at the time of the coup.
Aristide went into exile in the Central African Republic and South Africa. He returned to Haiti in 2011 after seven years in exile.