Michèle Bennett (born 15 January 1950)
is the former
First Lady of Haiti and the ex‑wife of former
President of Haiti,
Jean‑Claude Duvalier.
They fled to France together when he resigned in 1986;
they divorced in 1990.
Early life
Michèle Bennett was born in
Port‑au‑Prince, Haiti,
in 1950, the daughter of Aurore() and ErnestBennett, a Haitian businessman and descendant of of Haiti.
Her father owned more than of land, growing mostly coffee, and employing 1,600 estate workers in addition to 900 more in his business.
Her uncle was Haiti's Roman Catholic Archbishop Monsignor
At 15, Bennett moved to New York, where she was educated at St. Mary's School in
Peekskill
Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...
. She went on to work as a secretary at a slipper company in New York City's
Garment District.
In 1973, she married Alix Pasquet, Jr., the son of Captain
Alix Pasquet, a well known
mulatto officer and
Tuskegee Airman who in 1958 led a coup attempt against
François Duvalier. By Pasquet she had two children, Alix III and Sacha.
After her 1978 divorce from Pasquet, she had a career in public relations for Habitation LeClerc, an upscale hotel in Port‑au‑Prince.
Marriage
Although Bennett met
Jean‑Claude Duvalier in high school, the pair did not become romantically engaged until ten years later.
In 1980, Bennett married President Duvalier. Their wedding, Haiti's social event of the decade, cost an unprecedented US$2million and was received enthusiastically by the majority of Haitians.
Michèle Duvalier at first endeared herself to the population by distributing clothes and food to the needy as well as opening several medical clinics and schools for the poor.
In the six weeks following the wedding, Michèle and Jean‑Claude toured Haiti, turning up unannounced at meetings, marketplaces, and other gathering places, which garnered “approving glances and words most everywhere”.
On a visit to Haiti,
Mother Teresa remarked that she had “never seen the poor people being so familiar with their head of state as they were with ”.
With Jean‑Claude, Michèle had her third and fourth children: Nicolas and Anya.
The marriage represented a symbolic alliance with the mulatto elite, the families Jean‑Claude's father had opposed.
This resulted in her husband's mother,
Simone Duvalier
Simone Duvalier (; '' née'' Ovide; 19 March 1913 – 26 December 1997), also known as Mama Doc, was the wife of Haitian leader François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and the First Lady of Haiti.
Early life
She was born Simone Ovide in about 1913 ...
, who opposed the match, being sidelined politically, which in turn created new factional alliances within the ruling group since the Duvalierist Old Guard opined that the new First Lady's power appeared to exceed her husband's. While Jean‑Claude often dozed through Cabinet meetings, his wife, frustrated at his political ineptitude, reprimanded ministers herself.
First lady
Accusations of or associations with corruption plagued the Duvalier–Bennett marriage. Michèle's father, Ernest Bennett, took advantage of his presidential connection to extend interests into his businesses, from his
BMW dealership, to his coffee and
cocoa export concerns, to
Air Haiti, in whose planes Bennett was rumored to be transporting drugs.
In 1982, Frantz Bennett, Michèle's brother, was arrested in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
for drug trafficking, and began a three‑year jail term.
Michèle Duvalier's family amassed wealth during the later part of Jean‑Claude's dictatorship. By the end of his fifteen‑year rule, Duvalier and his wife had become notorious for their corruption.
The National Palace became the scene of opulent costume parties, where the young President once appeared dressed as a
Turkish sultan to dole out ten‑thousand‑dollar jewels as door prizes.
![Fleeing Duvaliers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Fleeing_Duvaliers.jpg)
While on a visit to Haiti in 1983, declared that "things must change in Haiti", and he called on "all those who have power, riches and culture so that they can understand the serious and urgent responsibility to help their brothers and sisters".
Popular uprising against the regime began soon after that. Duvalier responded with a 10%reduction in staple
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...
, the closing of independent radio stations, a cabinet reshuffle, and a crackdown by police and army units, but these moves failed to dampen the momentum of the popular uprising. Jean‑Claude's wife and advisers urged him to put down the rebellion in order to remain in office. In response to widening opposition to 28 years of Duvalier rule, on 7 February 1986, the Duvaliers fled the rioting country in an American plane accompanied by 19 other people.
Exile
The governments of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Switzerland,
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
and
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
all refused the Duvalier family's requests for asylum. France agreed to give the Duvaliers temporary entry but also denied them asylum.
Soon after their arrival in France, their home was raided as part of an investigation into pillaging Haiti's treasury. Bennett was found trying to flush documentation down a toilet. Her papers documented recent spending including US$168,780 for
Givenchy
Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...
clothing, US$270,200 for
Boucheron
Boucheron () is a French luxury jewellery and watches house located in Paris, 26 Place Vendôme, owned by Kering.
History
At the origins
The House of Boucheron is a French family dynasty founded by Frederic Boucheron in 1858, with the opening ...
jewelry and US$9,752 for two children's horse saddles at
Hermès
Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...
.
In 1987, a French civil court dismissed Haiti's lawsuit against the Duvaliers, which sought to have the Duvaliers held responsible to repay money to Haiti.
In 1990, Jean‑Claude Duvalier filed for divorce from Bennett in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, accusing her of immoral acts.
Bennett, who was living with another man in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
at the time, contested the decision, flying to the Dominican Republic to obtain a reversal before her husband prevailed in a third court.
She was awarded alimony and child support.
In the wake of the
2010 earthquake in Haiti, Bennett returned to Haiti with a search and rescue team to look for her brother RudyBennett in the rubble of the
Hôtel Montana.
Bennett returned to Haiti for Jean‑Claude Duvalier's funeral on 11 October 2014. She attended with her two children from their marriage, at a chapel on the grounds of the
Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague
Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague is a primary and secondary Roman Catholic school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was founded and is run by the Brothers of Christian Instruction (FIC) (''Frères de l'instruction chrétienne de Ploërmel''). The ...
school in the
Delmas district of Port‑au‑Prince.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Michele
1950 births
First Ladies and Gentlemen of Haiti
Haitian expatriates in France
Haitian people of Mulatto descent
Living people
People from Port-au-Prince
Christophe family
Duvalier family
Haitian people of Grenadian descent