Jean-Bertrand Aristide 66795 225914631 2008-07-16T00:10:28Z Mattisse 1386816 delink dates per most recent MoS {{POV|date=December 2007}} {{Refimprove|date=February 2008}} {{Infobox Officeholder | name =Jean-Bertrand Aristide | image =Clinton&Aristide.jpg | imagesize =150px | smallimage = | caption =Jean-Bertrand Aristide with [[Bill Clinton]] in 1994. | order =39th & 41st | office =President of Haiti | term_start =February 7, 1991 | term_end =September 30, 1991<br>October 12, 1994 – February 7, 1996<br>February 7, 2001 – February 29, 2004 | primeminister =[[René Préval]]<br>[[Smarck Michel]]<br>[[Claudette Werleigh]]<br>[[Jean Marie Chérestal]]<br>[[Yvon Neptune]] | predecessor =[[Ertha Pascal-Trouillot]] (provisional)<br>[[Émile Jonassaint]] (provisional)<br>[[René Préval]] | successor =[[Raoul Cédras]] (Leader of the Military Junta)<br>[[René Préval]]<br>[[Boniface Alexandre]] (provisional) | birth_date =July 15, 1953 | birth_place =[[Port-Salut]], [[Haiti]] | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = | party =[[Fanmi Lavalas|Lavalas]] | spouse = | relations = | children = | residence = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | religion = [[Roman Catholic]] | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Jean-Bertrand Aristide''' (born July 15, 1953) is a former [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] [[priest]] who was [[List of Presidents of Haiti|President of Haiti]] in 1991, again from 1994 to 1996, and then from 2001 to 2004. Aristide was the first democratically elected leader of Haiti and was popular among its poor inhabitants. He was overthrown twice, first in a military [[coup d'état]] in September, 1991, and subsequently in a [[2004 Haiti rebellion|February 2004 rebellion]] in which former soldiers prominently participated. After being deposed a second time he maintained from exile in the [[Central African Republic]] that he was still the legal and legitimate president and that [[United States]] forces had [[kidnapping|kidnapped]] him.<ref name="BBC-kdnp">{{cite web | title = Aristide: US forced me to leave| publisher = [[BBC]]| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3524273.stm| accessmonthday = July 21 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> His time in office saw a huge expansion in literacy and programs for Haiti's poor but his governments were also beset by conflict with foreign and local wealthy elites. ==Education and church career== Aristide was born in [[Port-Salut]]. He was educated at [[Salesian]] schools in [[Port-au-Prince]] and at the [[College Notre Dame]], graduating with honors in 1974. He then took a course of novitiate studies in [[La Vega, Dominican Republic|La Vega]], [[Dominican Republic]] before returning to Haiti to study [[philosophy]] at the [[Grand Seminaire Notre Dame]] and [[psychology]] at the [[University of Haiti|State University of Haiti]]. After completing his post-graduate studies in 1979, he traveled in [[Europe]], studying in [[Italy]] and [[Israel]]. Aristide returned to Haiti in 1983 for his ordination as a Salesian priest. He was appointed [[curate]] of a small [[parish]] in Port-au-Prince and then a larger one in the [[La Saline]] slums, gaining the affectionate [[Haitian Creole language|Kréyòl]] nickname "Titide" or "Titid" . An exponent of [[liberation theology]], he became a leading figure in the more radical wing of the Catholic faith in Haiti (the ''ti legliz'' — from the Kréyòl for "little church"), and broadcast his sermons on the national Catholic radio station. In a January 1988 interview with National Catholic Reporter, Aristide said,"The solution is revolution, first in the spirit of the Gospel; Jesus could not accept people going hungry. It is a conflict between classes, rich and poor. My role is to preach and organize...."{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Father Aristide was expelled from his Salesian order in 1988.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} At the time, the Salesians said the priest's political activities were an "incitement to hatred and violence" and out of line with his role as a clergyman. In 1995 Aristide left the priesthood. It enabled him the following year to marry [[Mildred Trouillot]], a [[United States|US]] citizen, with whom he now has two daughters. ==Aristide as President== ===First presidency and coup=== Following the violence at the abortive national elections of 1987, the [[Haitian general election, 1990–1991|1990 elections]] were approached with caution. Aristide announced his candidacy for the presidency and following a six-week campaign, during which he dubbed his followers "[[Fanmi Lavalas|Lavalas]]" — "the flood" or "torrent" in Kréyòl — the "little priest" was elected President with 67% of the vote in what is generally considered the first honest election in Haiti's history (the country had gained independence in 1804). Aristide took office on February 7, 1991. On September 30, 1991, the army staged a coup against Aristide and installed [[Joseph Nérette]] as president. However, real power was held by army commander [[Raoul Cédras]].<ref name = "coup"> {{cite news| date =1991-10-01| title =Leader Of Haiti Ousted Military Takes Over After Seizing Aristide| work =[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |format = reprint| url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/99074.html}}</ref> Aristide spent his exile first in [[Venezuela]] and then in the [[United States]], working hard to develop international support. A United Nations embargo during Aristide's exile was a strong blow to Haiti's already weak economy. Under U.S. and international pressure, the military regime backed down and U.S. troops were deployed in the country. On October 15, 1994, Aristide returned to Haiti to complete his term in office. Aristide disbanded the Haitian [[army]], and established a civilian [[police]] force. Aristide's first term ended in February 1996, and the constitution did not allow him to serve consecutive terms. There was some dispute over whether Aristide should serve the three years he had lost in exile prior to new elections, or whether his term in office should instead be counted strictly according to the date of his inauguration; it was decided that the latter should be the case. [[René Préval]], a prominent ally of Aristide and Prime Minister in 1991 under Aristide, ran during the 1995 presidential election and took 88% of the vote.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} This marked the first time in Haitian history that there was a peaceful and democratic transition of power. ==Second presidency == In late 1996, Aristide broke from the OPL (which had supported IMF privatization plans{{Fact|date=April 2008}}) and created a new political party, the [[Fanmi Lavalas]]. The OPL, holding the majority in the [[Senate of Haiti|Sénat]] and the [[Chamber of Deputies of Haiti|Chambre des Députés]], renamed itself the [[Struggling People's Organization|Organisation du Peuple en Lutte]], maintaining the OPL acronym. The Fanmi Lavalas won the 2000 legislative election but the opposition leaders claimed that a number of the seats were invalid. Aristide then was elected later that year in an election which was boycotted by most opposition political parties. == 2004 Haitian rebellion == {{details|2004 Haitian rebellion}} After a rebellion in 2004 Aristide left Haiti. The role of the U.S. in this departure is disputed. ==Potential return== After [[René Préval]], a former ally of Aristide, was elected as president of Haiti, he hinted that Aristide might return to Haiti.<ref name ="BBC-retrn>{{cite web | title = Haiti 'to allow' Aristide return |publisher = BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4741100.stm| accessmonthday = July 21 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref><ref name = BBC-ret-2>{{cite web | title = Thousands demand Aristide return| publisher = BBC| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5184280.stm| accessmonthday = July 21 | accessyear = 2006 }}</ref> But since then he has not provided a time frame for him to come back and all indications show that he won't do so as not to jeopardize the stability of the country. Following Aristide's ousting in 2004 very few nations continued to recognize Aristide as the democratically elected president of Haiti. Not one member of CARICOM (a Caribbean economic union) recognized the provisional government which replaced Aristide. The interim government was however recognized by the United States, Canada, France and the European Union but once Préval was elected to power, he was recognized as the Haitian head of state by CARICOM. In South Africa, Aristide became an honorary research fellow at the [[University of South Africa]], learned [[Zulu language|Zulu]], and on April 25, 2007 received a doctorate in African Languages.<ref>[http://iafrica.com/news/sa/625381.htm "Exiled Aristide gets SA doctorate"], iafrica.com, April 26, 2007.</ref> On December 21, 2007, a speech by Aristide marking the new year and Haiti's Independence Day was broadcast, the fourth such speech since his exile; in the speech he criticized the [[Haitian presidential election, 2006|2006 presidential election]], in which Préval was elected, describing it as a "selection" in which "the knife of treason was planted" in the back of the Haitian people.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/22/news/CB-GEN-Haiti-Aristide.php "Exiled former Haitian president stirs supporters with speech"], Associated Press (''International Herald Tribune''), December 22, 2007.</ref> After the election some high ranking members of Lavalas have been targeted for violence.<ref>[http://mostlywater.org/dr_maryse_narcisse_kidnapped_in_haiti "Dr. Maryse Narcisse Kidnapped in Haiti"] Dr. Maryse Narcisse was a member of the National Commission of the Fanmi Lavalas Party who was kidnapped in Octerber 2007, and later freed after a ransom was paid.</ref> <ref>Amnesty International Index: AMR 36/008/2007 &mdash; Wilson Mésilien, the successor to Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, had to go into hiding following death threats.</ref> Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, a leading human rights organizer in Haiti and a member of Lavalas, disappeared in August 2007.<ref>[http://www.thac.ca/node/45 "We are urging for the safe return of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine"]</ref> His whereabouts remain unknown.<ref>[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080229-1521-haiti-aristideanniversary.html "Thousands march in Haiti on anniversary of Aristide's departure"]. The article states "Like many protesters, he wore a T-shirt demanding the return of foundation leader Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, a human rights activist and critic of both UN and U.S. involvement in Haiti who disappeared in August. "</ref> Members of the former military and interim government that engaged in massive repression and killings during 2004-2006 remain free in the country. == Position on globalization == In 2004 Aristide published a book, ''[[The Eyes of the Heart: Seeking a Path for the Poor in the Age of Globalization]]'', which used Haiti as a case study of [[globalization]]. Aristide specifically points out problems with the [[World Bank]] and the [[IMF]] in creating larger problems within Haitian society and the economy. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== {{refstyle}} #Agence Haitienne de Presse (Independent Haitian News Service) Hidden From the Headlines: The U.S. War Against Haiti, by Laura Flynn, Robert Roth and Pierre Labossiere, published by the Haiti Action Committee, September 2003, available at www.haitiaction.net. #Interviews and site visits conducted by the authors in Port-au-Prince in January and July 2004. L’enfant en Domesticité en Haiti, Produit D’Un Fossé Historique, Mildred Aristide, March 2003. Address of Jean-Bertrand Aristide on the occasion of the Haitian Bicentennial, [[January 1]], [[2004]]. #Haiti Information Project—reports and eyewitness accounts available at www.haitiaction.net. “Option Zero in Haiti,” by Peter Hallward in the New Left Review, May–June 2004. “Haiti’s Wretched of the Earth,” Paul Farmer, [[Tikkun Magazine]], May–June 2004. “Concretizing Democracy” (series of reports) by Michelle Karshan, Office of the Foreign Press Liaison. #Haitian Government Briefing Papers issued [[February 7]], [[2003]]. ([[February 7]], [[2003]] “The Aids Crisis and Healthcare,” “Haiti’s Police Force,” “Promoting Investment and Raising the Minimum Wage,” “Battling Corruption and Drug Trafficking,” “Justice”). L’Union (Haitian government daily paper of record). #HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS Report of the Center for the Study of Human Rights, University of Miami Law School, [[January 18]], [[2005]]. The whole report, including photographs, is available at www.ijdh.org/CSHRhaitireport.pdf. The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti has issued four reports documenting systematic, widespread attacks against Lavalas officials, grassroots activists and the press, and abuse of the judicial system for political reprisals. These reports are available www.ijdh.org. Haiti Accompaniment Project Reports, [[July 29]], [[2004]], November, 2004, document human rights abuses and the reversal of Lavalas social and economic programs. (available at www.haitiaction.net) #Now unavailable news pieces by [[Yahoo News]], [[Reuters]] et al. #Now available as well the film "Aristide and the Endless Revolution" by filmmaker [[Nicolas Rossier]] (www.aristidethefilm.com) ==External links== *[http://news.google.com/news?q=jean-bertrand%20aristide&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=in Google News Coverage — ''Jean-Bertrand Aristide''] * [http://www.democracynow.org/static/haiti.shtml Democracy Now! coverage of Aristide's ouster (text/audio/video)] * Naomi Klein, ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[July 18]], [[2005]], [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1530646,00.html "6/7: the massacre of the poor that the world ignored: The US cannot accept that the Haitian president it ousted still has support"] * [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n08/farm01_.html Paul Farmer, Who Removed Aristide?] ''London Review of Books'' [[15 April]] [[2004]] * [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Haiti/Who_Is_Aristide.html ''Who Is Aristide?''] by Paul Farmer in ''The use of Haiti'' * [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0413-08.htm CommonDreams]: the US and France denies Aristide's charges; but block UN probes * [http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=the_2004_removal_of_jean-bertrand_aristide Timeline of events relating to Jean-Bertrand Aristide] *[http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2937 Invisible Violence: Murder in Post-Coup Haiti] * [http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2006/06/return-aristide-law-and-democracy-in.php 'The Return': Aristide, Law and Democracy in Haiti], [[JURIST]] *[http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1159809,%2000.html Why they had to Crush Aristide, The Gaurdian] *[http://http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0235,deibert,37823,1.html Aristide's Tinderbox: Haitian Militants Losing Faith in President’s Promise of Reform] *[http://newleftreview.org/A2507 Operation Zero in Haiti, New Left Review] *[http://www.radicalphilosophy.com/default.asp?channel_id=2187&editorial_id=14344 Haitian Inspiration, Radical Philosophy] *[http://www.udw.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?3,28,10,1213 Haiti 1804 as an Event - Fidelity to Freedom, Why has it been so difficult to achieve?] *[http://www.ghostsofcitesoleil.com Ghosts of Cité Soleil] * http://www.aristidethefilm.com . The film by filmmaker [[Nicolas Rossier]] investigates the events leading up to the 2004 coup against Aristide. {{start box}} {{succession box|title=[[List of Presidents of Haiti|President of Haiti]]|before=[[Ertha Pascal-Trouillot]]|after=[[Raoul Cédras]]|years=1991}} {{succession box|title=[[List of Presidents of Haiti|President of Haiti]]|before=[[Marc Bazin]]|after=[[Émile Jonassaint]]|years=1993&ndash;1994}} {{succession box|title=[[List of Presidents of Haiti|President of Haiti]]|before=[[Émile Jonassaint]]|after=[[René Préval]]|years=1994&ndash;1996}} {{succession box|title=[[List of Presidents of Haiti|President of Haiti]]|before=[[René Préval]]|after=[[Boniface Alexandre]]|years=2001&ndash;2004}} {{end box}} {{HaitiPostDuvalierHeads}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Aristide, Jean-Bertrand}} [[Category:Presidents of Haiti]] [[Category:Laicized Roman Catholic priests]] [[Category:Haitian Roman Catholic priests]] [[Category:1953 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Haitian exiles]] [[da:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[de:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[et:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[es:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[fr:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[id:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[it:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[ht:Jan Bètran Aristid]] [[mk:Жан-Бертран Аристид]] [[mr:ज्यॉँ-बर्ट्रांड अरिस्टिड]] [[nl:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[ja:ジャン=ベルトラン・アリスティド]] [[no:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[pl:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[pt:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[ru:Аристид, Жан-Бертран]] [[fi:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[sv:Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] [[zh:让-贝特朗·阿里斯蒂德]]