Gerard Latortue

Gérard Latortue:  (born June 19, 1934 at Gonaïves) was the Prime Minister of Haïti from March 12, 2004 to June 9, 2006. He was an official in the United Nations for many years, and briefly served as foreign minister of Haïti during the short-lived 1988 administration of Leslie Manigat.

In February 2004, the country experienced a coup d’état which saw the removal and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; Breaking with the Haitian constitution a “council of the wise” was set up by the international powers to choose a new Prime Minister. Latortue was selected by the Council and appointed head of the interim government on March 9 while still living in the United States, and was sworn in on March 12.

His administration was recognized by the United Nations, the United States, Canada and The European Union and denied recognition by a few governments, including the governments of Jamaica and St Kitts and Nevis, Venezuela and Cuba, as well as the African Union. Furthermore, his Government was beset with opposition from the Fanmi Lavalas political party (and with them, a large amount of the Haitian populace); an ongoing flight of foreign capital and human resources (especially by the country’s economic elite, which, through the Group of 184, had steadfastly supported the coup against Aristide and had contributed a significant amount of personnel to the subsequent government); and violence by and between gangs, rebels, and militants (especially in Port-au-Prince and its metropolitan area), many of whom are either former members of the Haitian Armed Forces (disbanded by Aristide) or street gang supporters of the Aristide government “Chimere”.

The 2006 elections in Haiti, to replace the interim government of Gérard Latortue put in place after the 2004 Haitian coup d’état, were delayed four times after having been originally scheduled for October and November 2005. The elections finally took place on February 7, 2006. The 129 member Haitian parliament was also elected at this election. Run-off elections for the Chamber of Deputies of Haiti were held on 21 April 2006. In June 2006, Latortue was succeeded by Jacques-Édouard Alexis.

Latortue was the head of the observer mission of La Francophonie in Togo for that country’s October 2007 parliamentary election.