Serge Gilles (5 January 1936 – 1 February 2021) was the leader of the

Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats The Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats ( ht, Fizyon Sosyodemokrat Ayiti, ; french: Fusion des Sociaux-Démocrates Haïtiens, ) —also translated in some sources as ''Union of Haitian Social Democrats''— is a political party in Haiti. History ...

political party. He spent 25 years in overseas exile before returning to Haiti in 1986. He became the leader of the Fusion party in 2005 and was fielded as their candidate for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

but lost to

René Préval René Garcia Préval (; 17 January 1943 – 3 March 2017) was a Haitian politician and agronomist who served twice as President of Haiti; once from early 1996 to early 2001, and again from mid 2006 to mid 2011. He was also Prime Minister from ...

Private life

Gilles was born in a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Maïssade in the

Hinche Arrondissement Hinche ( ht, Ench) is an arrondissement in the Centre department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 264,943 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Hinche Arrondissement start with the number 51. The arondissement consists of the following commu ...

, in the

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

department of Haiti. He attended secondary school in

Hinche Hinche (; ht, Ench; es, Hincha) is a commune in the Centre department Haiti. It has a population of about 50,000. It is the capital of the Centre department. Hinche is the hometown of Charlemagne Péralte, the Haitian nationalist leader who ...

, then went on to further his education at Alexandre Pétion school in Port-au-Prince. He became a physical education teacher, teaching history and sports, which won him an award by the French Institute in Haiti of a scholarship to further his education. Gilles earned a degree in psychology in 1965 from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. He was denied entry back into Haiti so he remained in France and furthered his education. He worked for

Cimade The Cimade is a French NGO founded at the beginning of the World War II by French Protestant student groups, in particular the Christian activist and member of the French Resistance Madeleine Barot, to give assistance and support to people uproote ...

, eventually becoming director. Died February 1, 2021 around 10 pm.

References

1936 births Living people Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats politicians Candidates for President of Haiti {{Haiti-politician-stub