Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide Aristide meeting U.S. president Bill Clinton in the White House in 1994. President of Haiti In office 7 February 1991 – 29 September 1991 Prime Minister René Préval Preceded by Ertha Pascal-Trouillot Succeeded by Raoul Cédras In office 12 October 1994 – 7 February 1996 Prime Minister Smarck Michel Claudette Werleigh Preceded by Émile Jonassaint Succeeded by René Préval In office 7 February 2001 – 29 February 2004 Prime Minister Jean Marie Chérestal Yvon Neptune Preceded by René Préval Succeeded by Boniface Alexandre Personal details Born (1953-07-15) 15 July 1953 (age 61) Port-Salut, Sud Department Nationality Haitian Political party Lavala Political Organization (1991-1996) Fanmi Lavalas (1996-present) Spouse(s) Mildred Trouillot (1996-present) Children Two daughters Alma mater College Notre Dame State University of Haiti University of South Africa Occupation Priest Religion Roman Catholic Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Catholic priest of the Salesian order and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies. He became a focal point for the pro-democracy movement first under Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier and then under the military transition regime which followed. He won the Haitian general election, 1990-1991, with 67% of the vote and was briefly president of Haiti, until a September 1991 military coup. The coup regime collapsed in 1994 under US pressure and threat of force (Operation Uphold Democracy). Aristide was then president again from 1994 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2004. However, Aristide was ousted in a 2004 coup d'état, in which one of his former soldiers participated. He accused the United States of orchestrating the coup d'état against him with support from Jamaican prime minister P. J. Patterson among others. Aristide was later forced into exile in the Central African Republic and South Africa. He finally returned to Haiti in 2011 after seven years in exile.