Simple directory > Regional > Haiti

Country : Haiti Official name: République d'Haiti (Republic of Haiti) Head of State: Interim President Boniface Alexandre (sworn in 29 Feb 2004) Head of government: Prime Minister Gérard Latortue (sworn in 13 Mar 2004) Ruling party: Government of national unity (13 ministers with no party affiliations; sworn in 17 Mar 2004) Area: 27,750 square km Population: 8.67 million (2004) Capital: Port-au-Prince Official language: French and Creole Currency: Gourde (G) = 100 centimes Exchange rate: G35.00 per US$ (Nov 2004) GDP per capita: US$440 (2003) Unemployment: 70.00% (2003)* Inflation: 32.30% (2003) Balance of trade: -US$842.00 million (2003) Foreign debt: US$1.20 billion (2003) * estimated figure

Historical profile

1492 Christopher Columbus landed and named the island Hispaniola, or 'little Spain'.

1496 The Spanish established the first European settlement in the western hemisphere at Santo Domingo, now the capital of the Dominican Republic.

1697 The island of Hispaniola was divided between France and Spain. The western half became Haiti.

1801 A former black slave, Toussaint Louverture, led a guerrilla rebellion, conquering Haiti, abolishing slavery and proclaiming himself governor general of all Hispaniola. He was captured by the French and died in their custody.

1804 Independence was declared by former slave Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared himself emperor. There were various monarchical periods until 1859.

1806 Dessalines was assassinated and Haiti became divided into the black-controlled north and the mulatto-controlled south.

1818--43 Pierre Boyer unified Haiti, but excluded blacks from power.

1915 The US invaded Haiti claiming it was protecting its property and investments threatened by clashes between blacks and mulattos.

1934 The US withdrew its troops.

1956 François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, a voodoo physician, seized power in a military coup and became president in the following year.

1964 Duvalier declared himself president-for-life and established a dictatorship with the help of the violent Tontons Macoute militias.

1971 Duvalier died and was succeeded by his son, the 19-year-old Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, who declared himself president-for-life.

1986 Baby Doc fled Haiti amid riots and a multitude of coup attempts. Lieutenant General Henri Namphy assumed power as the head of a governing junta.

1988 Leslie Manigat became president but was overthrown in a coup led by Brigadier General Prosper Avril, who installed a civilian government under military control.

1990 Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president.

1991 Aristide was expelled from the country following a military coup. The new junta promised elections at a future date. The US, France and Canada suspended aid to Haiti and refused to recognise the new government.

1993 The UN imposed sanctions on Haiti after the military regime rejected an accord designed to facilitate Aristide's return to power.

1994 After US forces removed the military government of General Raoul Cedras, Aristide returned from exile and was reinstalled as president. He was not permitted by law to stand for re-election in 1995.

1995 René Preval was elected to replace Aristide.

1997 US troops left Haiti. Prime Minister Rosny Smarth resigned.

1999 President Préval dissolved the legislature and a Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) was created to organise elections; Jacques Eduard Aléxis was appointed prime minister and a government was sworn in.

2000 The Fanmi Lavalas (FL) (Lavalas Family) party won control of the Senate and President Jean-Bertrand Aristide won the controversial presidential election.

2001 President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was sworn in; he appointed Jean-Marie Chéréstal as prime minister. Aristide agreed to hold new parliamentary elections in return for the OAS helping Haiti to obtain US$500 million of suspended aid. There was an unsuccessful coup attempt.

2002 Prime Minister Chéréstal resigned amid allegations of corruption and incompetence. Aristide appointed Yvon Neptune as prime minister. In November, there were violent clashes between government and opposition factions, attacks by government loyalists on civic groups and armed anti-government gangs. Opposition groups and US officials said the elections due by the end of the year should not proceed since security has worsened.

2004 The escalating violent protests in Haiti stemmed from disputed elections in 2000, which the opposition says were rigged. The opposition rebels, led by Guy Philippe, gained control of several towns, and on 29 February, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and left the country; Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre was sworn in as caretaker president. The UN approved a multi-national security force to restore law and order. On 9 March, Gérard Latortue was named as prime minister and on 17 March, a government of national unity was sworn in. The hurricane that struck in May devastated the island of Hispaniola, shared between Haiti and Dominican Republic, with a death toll in Haiti of around 2,000. Relief measures included emergency medicines and food. It was claimed that poverty in Haiti had forced peasants to cut down forest to provide basic fuel and this had left the land denuded and was consequently largely to blame for the mudslides and flooding as rainwater poured off the hills. A UN force assumed Haiti peacekeeping duties in June. In August, the US made available US$9 million to Haiti to assist in election preparations for 2005; an agreement was signed between Haiti, the UN and the Organisation of American States (OAS) for the organisation of the elections.

2005 UN peacekeepers were cracking down on violence between supporters and opponents of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

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