The president of Haiti ( ht, Prezidan peyi Ayiti, french: Président d'Haïti), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (french: link=no, Président de la République d'Haïti, ht, link=no, Prezidan Repiblik Ayiti), is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the

prime minister of Haiti The prime minister of Haiti (French: , ht, Premye Minis Ayiti) is the head of government of Haiti. The office was created under the 1987 Constitution; previously, all executive power was held by the president or head of state, who appointed and ...

. Prime Minister

Ariel Henry Ariel Henry (; born 6 November 1949) is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who has served as the acting prime minister of Haiti and the acting president of Haiti since 20 July 2021. He later became involved in a controversy due to his refusa ...

currently serves as Acting President following the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of President

Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse (; ; 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian entrepreneur and politician, who served as the 43rd President of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He was sworn in as president in February 2017 after winning the ...

on 7 July 2021.

Term and election

A number of qualifications for the presidency are specified by Chapter III, Section A (Articles 134 and 135) of the 1987

Constitution of Haiti The Constitution of Haiti (french: Constitution d'Haïti, ht, Konstitisyon Ayiti) was modeled after the constitutions of the United States, Poland and France. The latest version of the document was approved by Parliament in March 2011 and came ...

. The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote. The president may not be elected to consecutive terms; he may serve a second term only after an interval of five years, and may not run for a third term. To be elected president, a candidate must: # be a native-born Haitian and never have renounced nationality; # be 35 years old by election day; # enjoy civil and political rights, and not have been sentenced to death, penal servitude, or the loss of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

for a crime; # be the owner of

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...

and have one's habitual residence in the country; # reside in the country at least 5 years before election day; # have been discharged of responsibilities if he previously handled public funds. Elections are held on the last Sunday in November in the fifth year of a president's term. However, in actuality

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...

is not fixed, per the election held in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

is held between the top two candidates. The runoff candidate with the highest number of votes becomes president. Each presidential term is supposed to begin and end on the February 7 immediately following the last presidential election. However, this has not always been observed, as when

Michel Martelly Michel Joseph Martelly (; born 12 February 1961) is a Haitian musician and politician who was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. He was sanctioned by the Canadian Government for his involvement in human rights violations ...

became President on May 11, 2011.

Duties and Powers

Other qualifications for the presidency are specified by Articles 136 to 147, part of Chapter III, Section B of the 1987 Constitution. The president has no powers except those accorded to him in the Constitution. The Constitution mandates that the president see to: # respect for and enforcement of the Constitution and the stability of government institutions; # regular operations of public entities; # the continuity of the State;; and # the nation's independence and the integrity of its territory. When there exists a majority in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in favor of a new government, the President must choose a

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

from the majority party; otherwise, he chooses one after consultation with the two houses of Parliament. In either case, the choice must then be

ratified Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inte ...

by Parliament. The president terminates the duties of the prime minister when the Government resigns. The president declares war and negotiates and signs

peace treaties A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surre ...

with the approval of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, and signs all international

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

, conventions, and agreements, submitting them to the National Assembly for ratification. The president also accredits

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

s and

special envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

s to foreign nations, receives letters of accreditation from ambassadors of foreign powers, and issues

exequatur An exequatur (Latin, literally "let it execute") is a legal document issued by a sovereign authority that permits the exercise or enforcement of a right within the jurisdiction of the authority. International relations An exequatur is a patent ...

s to recognize

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

s. With the approval of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, the president appoints the

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

of the

Haitian armed forces The Armed Forces of Haiti (french: Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H), consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy (at times), the Haitian Air Force, Haitian Coast Guard, (ANI) and some police forces (Port-au-Prince Police). The Army was always ...

and of the Haitian police forces, as well as Haiti's ambassadors and consuls to foreign states. The president is himself the commander-in-chief of the armed services. With the approval of the Council of Ministers, the president appoints the directors-general of the civil service, as well as delegates and vice-delegates of various departments and arrondissements. The president ratifies laws, and has the right to choose between ratifying a law or not. The president may reduce or

commute Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to: * Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work Mathematics * Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...

sentences in all ''

res judicata ''Res judicata'' (RJ) or ''res iudicata'', also known as claim preclusion, is the Latin term for "a matter decided" and refers to either of two concepts in both civil law and common law legal systems: a case in which there has been a final judgm ...

'' cases, except ones imposes by Supreme Court judges. The president, however, may not grant amnesty to non-political prisoners.

Residence

The

National Palace Buildings called National Palace include: * National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo *National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador *National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace * National Palace (Guate ...

in the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

served as the official residence of the president of Haiti, but was severely damaged in the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

, and was demolished in 2012. In place of the National Palace, President Moise used his home at Pelerin 5 in

Pétion-Ville Pétion-Ville ( ht, Petyonvil) is a commune and a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in the hills east and separate from the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. Founded in 1831 by president Jean-Pierre Boyer, it was named af ...

as a temporary Presidential Palace before relocating to another home in the Juventas area.

Line of succession

Under the 1987 Constitution, the presidential

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Supreme Court of Haiti, then to the vice-president of the court, and then to

puisne judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

s in order of seniority. An election for president was required within three months of a vacancy occurring, and the acting president could not run for the office. This provision was amended in 2011–2012 to remove all judges from the presidential line of succession, instead designating the Council of Ministers, led by the prime minister, as a temporary collective presidency.

List of presidents

Latest election

Notes

___citations are Article numbers of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Haiti. A government-issued but unofficial (and error-prone) English translation is available at http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b542c.html and http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Haiti/haiti1987.html and the French original is available at http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Haiti/haiti1987fr.html

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:President Of Haiti Government of Haiti . 1807 establishments in Haiti