Charles Henri Baker

Charles-Henri Jean-Marie Baker (born June 3, 1955) is a Haitian industrialist and Presidential Candidate. He is a former Vice President of the Group of 184.^[1] Baker was a candidate for president in Haiti's 2006 and 2010 elections.

Early life

Baker was born in Port-au-Prince. His father Edouard Baker was a prominent engineer and agronomist and a well-known soccer player. His mother Louise Barranco, a Businesswoman, was the founder of the first supermarket chain in Haiti. Baker has two brothers and three sisters.[1] One of Charles Baker's grandfathers was an Episcopal missionary from England. [2]

After completing his elementary education in Haiti, he traveled to the United States. In 1972 he graduated from Union School. He later attended Saint Leo University in Florida, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration in 1976. In 1975, he married Marie Florence Apaid, sister of André Apaid. He has four children and seven grandchildren.[3]

Business career

Baker began his business career as a manager at the age 21 in his family-owned and operated supermarket chain. When his father became ill, he took over the family-owned 90-acre farm Habitation Dujour, which grew sugarcane, banana, and tobacco. Eventually, the land expanded another 120 acres which made it the largest flue-cured tobacco farm in Haiti, with more than 200 acres. Simultaneously, from 1982 to 1985 he worked with the tobacco growers of Haiti through the Comme il faut Company, where he held the position of Assistant to the Leaf Growing Manager.[4]

Beginning in the late 1980s, Baker began to purchase garment factories. These factories, which have been called sweatshops by labor rights and human rights organizations, employ hundreds of Haitians who are paid very little and have no benefits. Baker sells the garments produced in these factories to major corporations such as Sara Lee, Walmart and K-Mart.

In 2000, he joined the Association des Industries d’Haïti as member and a year later became Vice [5]

Baker was a prominent member of the Group of 184 (G 184), a coalition of Haitian organizations opposing Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The groups actions contributed to the coup d'état against Aristide in 2004.^[2]

2006 Haitian Presidential Election

Main article: Haitian general election, 2006

In August 2005, Baker announced his intentions to run for the president of Haiti in the elections originally planned for November 2005 but later moved to February 2006.

Baker and his Respè coalition received 8.24 percent of the vote, losing to René Préval.

2010 Haitian Presidential Election

Main article: Haitian general election, 2010

Charles Henri Baker was running for President of Haiti in the November 28, 2010 Haiti elections. Charles Henri Baker, also known as Charlito Baker, is running under the Respè Party of Haiti.[6][7] Newspaper articles have alleged that Baker tried to buy votes in the run-up to the elections. [8]

Quotes

• I have one country, and four children. I don’t plan on living any place else. I love my country, I love the Haitian people. I’m proud to be a candidate for public office in Haiti.[9]
• I’m not going anywhere. Haiti is my home. I’ve been fighting democracy for thirty years. And I’ll continue to fight for what I believe in.[10]
• “All Haitians have been placed on a equal level field. The rich and poor, uneducated and educated, the street merchant and the elite business community have all suffered tremendously. Not only did the earth move but the thoughts of many of us who live in Haiti have been shaken from the past ways of doing things, to the desire to get Haiti right in its rebuilding,” [11]

References

1. ^ OAS Secretary General’s Quarterly Report on the Situation in Haiti, October 24, 2005
2. ^ The Puzzling Alliance of Chavannes Jean-Baptiste and Charles Henri Baker, CounterPunch, March 1, 2006

External references

• The Puzzling Alliance of Chavannes Jean-Baptiste and Charles Henri Baker, CounterPunch, March 1, 2006
• Politics in a time of cholera, marked by chaos and anger, The Independent, November 27, 2010
• Charles Henri Baker's Party Website - Respe Haiti
• Charles Henri Baker Channel on You Tube
• Charlito Fanatic Channel on You Tube
• Charles Henri Baker candidate for Haiti's presidential elections to be held on Sunday, November 28, 2010
• Haiti Presidential Charles Henri Baker comes To West Palm Beach, Florida to speak to Haitian people
• An Interview with Charles Henri Baker

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Name	Baker, Charles Henri
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Date of birth	June 3, 1955
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