Gérard Latortue, former interim Haitian premier, dies at 88

Gérard Latortue, a former interim prime minister of Haiti who helped rebuild and unite the nation after a violent coup within the mid-2000s, has died.

He was 88.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry introduced Latortue’s dying Monday, saying it was an incredible loss for the nation. He described Latortue as “a reformer, a satisfied patriot, an eminent technocrat, a voice of change, of improvement (and) a supporter of democracy.”

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Latortue was a former exile who was sworn in as interim prime minister in March 2004 following months of bloodshed and political strife that left greater than 300 lifeless and culminated within the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The turmoil on the time prompted the US navy to escalate its mission in Haiti.

In a July 2004 interview with The Related Press in Washington, Latortue vowed to combat corruption and disarm highly effective gangs as he requested $1.3 billion from the worldwide neighborhood to assist rebuild Haiti after the violent revolt.

In September 2005, he welcomed former US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice to Haiti, the place she pressured the necessity for native officers to speed up the method to carry basic elections.

Latortue stated on the time that his administration shared the identical considerations because the US authorities and the worldwide neighborhood, and that the administration would honour the outcomes of the upcoming elections.

“This authorities has no considerations in any way as to who would be the subsequent president. Whoever that’s, we are going to greet that individual with open arms and move energy on to her or him,” Latortue stated on the time.

In February 2006, Haiti held basic elections to interchange the interim authorities of Latortue, who was succeeded by former Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis. The provisional president, Boniface Alexandre, was succeeded by former President René Préval.

On Tuesday, former Prime Minister Jack Man Lafontant tweeted that Latortue was “a practical politician who knew how, in a really troublesome context, to steer the nation to free and democratic elections.”

Latortue had beforehand served as Haiti’s international minister, as a enterprise guide in Miami and as an official with the UN Industrial Growth Group in Africa.

AP/