![Dartigue-lescot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Dartigue-lescot.png)
Jean Joseph Maurice Dartigue (1903–1983) was a
Haitian public official and educational reformer. He believed the cause of problems in Haiti stemmed from the nation's poor educational system.
He continued his work with
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in Africa until the end of his career.
Early life
Maurice Dartigue was born in
Les Cayes, Haiti in 1903. His father was
Jean Baptiste Dartigue, a lawyer,
député
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon Re ...
, and Governor of the South. Maurice had two sisters and a brother.
Dartigue attended the
Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial
Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial (founded in 1865),Petit Seminaire College St-Martial Alumni Association Abroad (201"PSCSM-AAA" is an all-boys Catholic school located in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The school is under the control ...
. In 1924, he attended Haiti's Faculty of Law.
[ However, he dropped out of law school after his first year. He then enrolled in the École Centrale d'Agriculture (Central School of Agriculture) and graduated in 1926. From 1927 through 1928, he traveled to the United States to begin working towards a master's degree at ]Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...
. It was here that he met his future wife, Esther Reithoffer.[
]
Career
In 1926 Dartigue was hired as an assistant to the
Director of Rural Education. In 1928, he began working as a teacher in education and social studies. That year
he became the director of an agricultural boarding school. He was brought back to the School of Agriculture to supervise their experimental farm plots in 1930.[ He returned to Columbia University in 1930, and he completed his master's degree in rural education in 1931.][
In 1934, the final year of the United States occupation of Haiti, Dartigue was named Director of Rural Education. He remained in the position from 1934 until 1941. In 1941, he became Minister of Public Instruction, Labor, and Agriculture, a role he retained until 1945.][ In this role, Dartigue served as vice president for the corporate entity ]Société haitiano-américaine de développement agricole
The Société Haïtiano-Américane de Développement Agricole, also known as SHADA, was a joint venture between the United States of America and Haiti to expand wartime production of rubber in the Haitian countryside. This program was established i ...
. This was a joint venture between the United States of America and Haiti during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to expand wartime production of rubber in the Haitian countryside.
As a minister, Dartigue was partially successful in implementing reforms for primary and vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
s, but failed to restructure secondary schools before the Haitian Revolution of 1946.
Dartigue sought asylum in the United States after Élie Lescot
Antoine Louis Léocardie Élie Lescot (December 9, 1883 – October 20, 1974) was the President of Haiti from May 15, 1941 to January 11, 1946. He was a member of the country's mixed-race elite. He used the political climate of World War II to s ...
was overthrown. He moved to New York to work with the United Nations as a specialist in education. In 1956, he moved to Paris for a position with UNESCO. Here, he supervised the Major Latin American Project (LAMP). He joined the UNESCO mission to the Congo from 1960 to 1961. In 1962, he was appointed by UNESCO to be Chief of the African Division. He was heavily involved in overseeing educational reform in Africa until his retirement in 1971.[
Dartigue died in Paris in 1983.]
Legacy
The Jean Joseph Maurice Dartigue Papers, consisting of records pertaining to the Société haitiano-américaine de développement agricole, are indexed by the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
.
His son, John Dartigue, was an executive and vice president of publicity at Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
. He died in 2022.
References
Further reading
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Haitian educators
1903 births
1983 deaths