René Préval
René Préval | |
|---|---|
Préval in 2006 | |
| 41st President of Haiti | |
| In office 14 May 2006 – 14 May 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacques-Édouard Alexis Michèle Pierre-Louis Jean-Max Bellerive |
| Preceded by | Boniface Alexandre |
| Succeeded by | Michel Martelly |
| In office 7 February 1996 – 7 February 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Claudette Werleigh Rosny Smarth Jacques-Édouard Alexis |
| Preceded by | Jean-Bertrand Aristide |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Bertrand Aristide |
| 2nd Prime Minister of Haiti | |
| In office 13 February 1991 – 11 October 1991 | |
| President | Jean-Bertrand Aristide |
| Preceded by | Martial Célestin |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Jacques Honorat |
| Minister of Interior and National Defence | |
| In office 19 February 1991 – 11 October 1991 | |
| President | Jean-Bertrand Aristide |
| Preceded by | Joseph Maxi (Interior) Jean Thomas (National Defence) |
| Succeeded by | Gracia Jean |
| Personal details | |
| Born | René Garcia Préval 17 January 1943 Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Died | 3 March 2017 (aged 74) Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Resting place | Marmelade, Haiti |
| Political party | Lespwa (2006–2009) Patriotic Unity (2009–2015) Plateforme Vérité (2015–2017) |
| Other political affiliations | Fanmi Lavalas (1996–2006) |
| Spouse(s) | Solange Lafontant (Divorced in 1997) Geri Benoit (Divorced in 2009) Elisabeth Delatour (2009–2017; his death) |
| Alma mater | College of Gembloux Catholic University of Leuven University of Pisa |
| Profession | Agronomist |
René Garcia Préval (French pronunciation: [ʁəne ɡaʁsja pʁeval]; 17 January 1943 – 3 March 2017) was a Haitian politician and agronomist who twice was President of Haiti, from early 1996 to early 2001, and again from mid-2006 to mid-2011. He was also Prime Minister from early to late 1991 under the presidency of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
In addition to being the first elected head of state since independence to serve a full term, the first to be elected to full terms of office without succeeding, the first to peacefully transfer power, and the first former prime minister to be elected president, Préval was also the first elected head of state in Haitian history to do so.
Préval promoted privatization of government companies, agrarian reform, and investigations of human rights abuses. His presidencies were marked by domestic tumult and attempts at economic stabilization, with his latter term seeing the destruction brought by the 2010 Haiti earthquake.