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Rene Garcia PrevalPresident of the Republic of Haiti since May 2006
Date of Birth: 17.01.1943
Country:  Haiti |
Content:
- René Préval: A Dedicated Haitian Leader
- Political Career and Early Positions
- First Presidential Term (1996-2001)
- Second Presidential Term (2006-2011)
- International Relations and Economic Developments
René Préval: A Dedicated Haitian Leader
Early Life and EducationRené Préval was born on January 17, 1943, in the small town of Marmelade, Artibonite Department. His father, an agronomist by profession, rose to the position of Minister of Agriculture under President Paul Magloire. However, he was later forced to resign due to his political background. René Préval pursued studies in business at the College of Gembloux and the University of Louvain in Belgium, and in biology at the University of Pisa in Italy.
Political Career and Early Positions
In the 1980s, René Préval worked as a waiter in Brooklyn, New York, before returning to Haiti. He then worked in the National Institute for Mineral Resources and actively engaged in agricultural development, a passion that would continue throughout his life. With friends, he opened a bakery in Port-au-Prince, while also remaining politically active and involved in charitable work, providing bread to the Salesian Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide's shelter.
After Aristide's election as President in 1990, Préval served as Prime Minister from February 1991 to October 11, 1991, when a military coup interrupted his term.
First Presidential Term (1996-2001)
In 1996, René Préval was elected President for a five-year term, winning 88% of the popular vote. During his presidency, he implemented significant economic reforms, including the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Unemployment rates in Haiti decreased significantly by the end of his term. He also made substantial changes in agricultural policy. Préval actively worked on human rights issues, although his presidency was also marked by severe political clashes with the opposition-led OPL parliamentary majority and Fanmi Lavalas, the party of the former President, who opposed Préval's structural adjustment and privatization programs. In 1999, Préval dissolved Parliament.
Second Presidential Term (2006-2011)
René Préval ran for President again in 2006, reportedly receiving either 60% or 48.7% of the vote, necessitating a second round. However, the results of the 48.7% were widely suspected to be fraudulent. Préval was declared the winner on February 16, 2006.
Préval's second term was marked by a more unified relationship with Parliament, in contrast to his first term. He stressed that division was "Haiti's main problem" and that Haitians needed to "work together." Upon taking office, Préval immediately signed an oil deal with Venezuela and traveled to the United States, Cuba, and France.
International Relations and Economic Developments
Haiti strengthened its relationship with Venezuela, signing various agreements, including economic partnerships. Plans were in place to construct four power plants and an oil refinery in Haiti.
Préval met with numerous Latin American leaders, including Fidel Castro, Evo Morales (Bolivia), Martín Torrijos (Panama), and Leonel Fernandez (Dominican Republic). In April 2008, Haiti faced violent riots triggered by a steep increase in food prices, including a doubling of the price of rice. The President called for calm, noting that the issue was affecting many countries globally. He promised to increase local food production to reduce Haiti's dependence on imports.
