Martial Celestin

Martial Lavaud Célestin (born October 4, 1913 in Ganthier , † February 3, 2011 in Port-au-Prince ) was a Haitian politician and lawyer .

life and career

Origin and education

Martial Célestin was born on October 4, 1913 in Ganthier in the Arrondissement of Croix-des-Bouquets ( Département Ouest ). From 1922 to 1932 he attended the Petit Séminaire Collège Saint Martial . From 1932 to 1936 he studied law at the Ecole Nationale de Droit in Port-au-Prince. There he also earned the title of Doctor of Law ( License de Droit ). In 1936 he was admitted to the bar. He then worked as a lawyer at the Institut d'Ethnologie d'Haïti .

From 1950 to 1953 he also completed a doctorate in economics at the Faculté de Droit of the University of Descartes in Paris .

He spoke Haitian , French , English , Spanish , German and Italian .

Career

Célestin began his professional career in the state administration. From August 1946 to July 1950 he was Deputy Government Commissioner at the administration in Port-au-Prince ( Substitut de Commissaire du Gouvernement ) and Secretary at the Institut de Criminologie d'Haïti . In 1950 he entered the diplomatic service . From 1950 to 1953 he was First Secretary ( Premier Secrétaire ) at the Haitian Embassy in Paris; 1950/1951 he was there Chargé d'affaires . From 1953 to 1956 he was Assistant Principal in the Haitian Foreign Ministry ( Ministères des Affaires Étrangères ) in Port-au-Prince and in 1956 Secretary General there. From October to December 1957 he was there finally general director ( Directeur Général au Ministère des Affaires Etrangères ) with the title and rank of ambassador .

From 1953 to 1956 he held a professorship at the Faculté de Droit in Port-au-Prince; there he taught public finance , financial management and economics . From 1982 to 1986 he again held a professorship at the Law Faculty of the State University of Haiti ( Université d'État d'Haïti ) in Port-au-Prince.

In 1977 he became a member of the Council of the Bar Association ( Conseil de l'Ordre des avocats ). In 1978 he was elected chairman of the Port-au-Prince Bar Association ( Bâtonnier de l'Ordre des avocats du Bureau de Port-au-Prince ); he was re-elected twice in this office.

He also held other professorships between 1978 and 2005 (Professeur de Droit Rural à la Faculté de Droit de Port au Prince, Professeur à l'Université Jean Price-Mars, Professeur de Droit à l'Académie Militaire, Professeur à l'Académie Nationale Diplomatique et Consulaire). He was a founding member of the APA ( Association des Producteurs Agricoles ).

On February 9, 1988, President Leslie Manigat named him the first Prime Minister of Haiti under the 1987 Constitution and the parliamentary elections of January 17, 1988 . At the same time, Célestin took over the office of Minister of Justice in his cabinet . He held these offices until the military coup of June 20, 1988.

Delegations

Célestin participated in Paris in October 1950 at the 2nd International Congress of Criminology ( 2ème Congrès International de Criminologie ). Also in Paris, he was a delegate at the conference at the UNESCO headquarters ( Délégué à la Conference du siège de l'UNESCO ).

In 1952 he was a delegate in Paris at the Journées internationales sur la sécurité sociale et les prestations familiales . As a representative of Haiti at the establishment of the Latin Union ( Union Latine ), he returned to Paris in the early 1950s. In Rabat he took part in the conference of the IDEF ( Institut International de Droit d'Expression Francaise ).

In 1978 Célestin was delegate of the conference for the establishment of the NPDR (Rassemblement National Progressive Democrats). In 1979 he took part in Rome as a delegate to the FAO World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development ( Délégué à la Conférence Mondiale de la FAO sur la Réforme Agraire et le développement rural ).

Further offices and honors

Célestin was an officer in the Legion of Honor . He was Commandeur des Ordre International Pétion et Bolivar , and Commandeur des Ordre National Honneur et Mérite Haïti .

He was a recipient of the Médaille de Vermeil of the Société Académique Arts - Sciences - Lettres in Paris .

He was also the holder of several honorary doctorates . These included honorary doctorates in law from the Université Jean Price-Mars and the Union des universités privées d'Haïti .

Family and death

Martial Célestin was unmarried. He died on the night of February 4, 2011 in Port-au-Prince at the age of 97.

Web links

• haiti-reference.com (French)
• Profile of Martial Célestin

References and footnotes

1. ↑ Décès de Martial Célestin death report on caraibesfm from February 5, 2011
2. ↑ Haiti-Politique: Décès de M. Célestin death report on Haiti Press Network of February 4, 2011
3. ↑ Haiti / Deuil: L'ancien Premier ministre haitien Martial Célestin décédé à 98 ans  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Death report on Bitin.fr from February 4, 2011  
4. ↑ The Association des Producteurs Agricoles represents the large-scale and export-oriented agriculture, in contrast to the small farmers who operate subsistence farming or only offer their harvest on local markets and to which the vast majority of Haitian farmers belong.
5. ↑ Prime Minister's entry on Worldstatesmen , accessed February 6, 2011
6. ↑ Décès de l'ancien Premier ministre Martial Célestin ( Memento of the original of February 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (French)