Élie Lescot

Élie Lescot (born December 9, 1883 in Saint-Louis-du-Nord ( Département Nord-Ouest ), † October 20, 1974 in Laboule ) was a Haitian politician and President of Haiti.

biography

Professional and political career

After finishing school, he began his professional training in 1905 as a translator at the customs authority of Port-de-Paix ( Département Nord-Ouest ). At the beginning of the US intervention in 1915 he was rector of a high school . After working as a diplomat in Cuba , he settled in France in 1919 .

After his return to Haiti he was first a judge and then from 1922 to 1930 Minister of Education and Agriculture. After another position as attorney general, he was a senator and then envoy to the USA . In this capacity, the neighboring Dominican Republic was rapprochemented in July 1939 after the massacre of over 18,000 Haitian sugar cane workers in 1937 at a reception for Dominican President Rafael Trujillo during his state visit to the USA.

President 1941 to 1946

After the resignation of President Sténio Vincent on May 15, 1941, he was elected President of Haiti by the National Assembly as his successor for a term of five years .

In terms of foreign policy he was on the side of the Allies against the Axis powers during the Second World War after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 . Without the approval of parliament he then declared war on December 8, first Japan and then on December 12, 1941 Germany and Italy . For this stance, Haiti received military and economic aid from the USA . On the other hand, he prohibited the United States Air Force from launching anti-submarine planes from Port-au-Prince airport . On 26 June 1945, Haiti was one of the signatories of the Charter of the United Nations of the founding members of the UN .

Due to his close ties to the USA, he was able to suppress oppositional tendencies. Domestically, an intensified campaign ( Campagnes Anti-Supersitieuses ) was carried out against the voodoo , which was pronounced in Haiti , whose temples ( ounfo ) were destroyed and drums and other religious objects were confiscated. His government was increasingly shaped by tyranny and corruption . He later suspended the constitution and exercised emergency rights for himself. Like many other presidents of that time, he extended his term of office from five to seven years in May 1944 due to the World War. At the same time, the election period for the members of the National Assembly and the senators was extended by one year. In addition, he appointed his son Gérard Élie Lescot as Foreign Minister in his government in 1943.

During this time, the opposition to his dictatorial regime grew in the student body around Jacques-Stephan Alexis and René Depestre . The student uprisings they led after a school strike that had just begun, and a military coup under Major Paul Eugène Magloire , finally led to Lescots being overthrown on January 11, 1946 and his subsequent flight into exile in Miami ( Florida ). Subsequently, a three-member Military Executive Council, chaired by Colonel Franck Lavaud, took power.

He later returned to Haiti, where he did not become politically active again.

Individual evidence

Web links

predecessor	Office	successor
Sténio Vincent	President of Haiti May 15, 1941 to January 11, 1946	Franck Lavaud

personal data
SURNAME	Lescot, Elie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	President of Haiti
DATE OF BIRTH	December 9, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH	Saint-Louis-du-Nord , Nord-Ouest department
DATE OF DEATH	20th October 1974
Place of death	Laboules

[1] "Squeeze Play" , TIME magazine July 17, 1939

[2] "Confinuismo Discouraged" , TIME Magazine April 28, 1941

[3] "Ylang-Ylang Tree" , TIME magazine February 16, 1942

[4] Haiti ( Memento of May 12, 2004 in the Internet Archive )

[5] Luca, Nathalie: “Religion Et Lien Social. L´Église Et L´État Moderne En Haiti “ , Paris 2004

[6] "Small Change" , TIME magazine May 8, 1944

[7] Rulers.org: Biographical notes for Gérard Lescot

[8] How to wipe away a head of state with a handful of paper - the amazing story of Gérard Chenet , NZZ, August 31, 2018

[9] "Exit Lescot" , TIME magazine January 21, 1946