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 ...
of
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 s ...
. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the
prime minister of Haiti. Prime Minister
Ariel Henry 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 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 ...
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 aff ...
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 ...
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 April ...
. 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 marke ...
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 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: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
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 ...
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 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 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 r ...
, and signs all international
treaties, 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 s ...
s and
special envoys to foreign nations, receives letters of accreditation from ambassadors of foreign powers, and issues
exequaturs 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 throu ...
s.
With the approval of the
Senate, the president appoints the
generalissimo 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 jud ...
'' 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 (Guatem ...
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 fo ...
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 catastrophic 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, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's ca ...
, and was demolished in 2012. In place of the National Palace, President Moise used his home at Pelerin 5 in
Pétion-Ville 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 went first to the president of the
Supreme Court of Haiti
The Supreme Court of Haiti (french: Cour de Cassation) is the highest court in the Haitian legal system. The Supreme Court building is located in Port-au-Prince.
History
From 1806–1817, the Senate of Haiti served judicial functions. The Sup ...
, then to the vice-president of the court, and then to
puisne judges 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
President is a common title for the head of state in most republics. The president of a nation is, generally speaking, the head of the government and the fundamental leader of the country or the ceremonial head of state.
The functions exercis ...
.
List of presidents
Latest election
See also
*
List of heads of state of Haiti
This article lists the heads of state of Haiti since the beginning of the Haitian Revolution in 1791. Full independence of Haiti was declared in 1804.
Between 1806 and 1820 Haiti was divided between the northern ''State'', renamed ''Kingdom'' in ...
*
Prime Minister of Haiti
*
List of prime ministers of Haiti
This article lists the prime ministers of Haiti since the establishment of the office of Prime Minister of Haiti in 1988.
List
;Political parties
;Other factions
;Symbols
Timeline
See also
* History of Haiti
* Saint-Domingue
** L ...
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