- Gérard Latortue
Infobox Officeholder
name =Gérard Latortue
imagesize =320px
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order =12th Prime Minister of Haiti
office =
term_start =March 12 ,2004
term_end =June 9 ,2006
president =Boniface Alexandre (provisional)René Préval
predecessor =Yvon Neptune
successor =Jacques-Édouard Alexis
birth_date =June 19 ,1934
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footnotes =Gérard Latortue (born
June 19 ,1934 atGonaïves ) was thePrime Minister ofHaïti fromMarch 12 2004 toJune 9 2006 . He was an official in theUnited Nations for many years, and briefly served asforeign minister of Haïti during the short-lived 1988 administration ofLeslie Manigat .In February 2004, the country suffered a "coup d'état" which saw the removal and exile of
Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president; Latortue was appointed head of the newprovisional government onMarch 9 while still living in theUnited States , and was sworn in onMarch 12 . Breaking with the Haitian constitution a "council of the wise" was set up by the international powers to choose Latortue.His administration was recognized by the United States, Canada and The European Union and denied recognition by a few of foreign states, including the governments of
Jamaica andSt Kitts and Nevis , as well as theAfrican Union ,Venezuela , andCuba . Furthermore, his government was beset with opposition from theFanmi Lavalas political party; an ongoing flight of foreign capital and human resources (especially by the country's economic elite, which, through theGroup 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 criminal street gang supporters of the Aristide government "Chimere">Multiple human rights investigations by
Amnesty International , theNational Lawyers Guild , and theUniversity of Miami Law School have documented massacres carried out by the police death squads of the Latortue government. A journalist,Abdias Jean , was murdered by police gunmen loyal to the Latortue government while other journalists such asJean Ristill andKevin Pina were placed in jail at times. Hundreds of Lavalas activists and politicians were illegally jailed, while thousands more were killed.In 2006 he was succeeded by
Jacques-Edouard Alexis .Latortue was the head of the observer mission of
La Francophonie inTogo for that country's October 2007 parliamentary election. [ [http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=elect_article_eng&id_article=44326 "Togo : Francophonie observers urge electoral commission to release results"] , African Press Agency, October 16, 2007.] [ [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/pays/togo/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN22107paysaelarot0 "Paysage après la bataille (électorale)"] , Jeuneafrique.com, October 22, 2007 fr icon.]References
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