Dumarsais Mécène Siméus (also Dumas Siméus; born 1939) is a

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an-born and U.S.

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

businessman from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Simeus returned to

to be a candidate in the 2006 presidential elections.

Early life

Siméus was born in

Pont-Sondé Pont-Sondé (, ) is a town in the communal section of Bocozelle in the Saint-Marc commune, in the Artibonite department of Haiti. Location Located within the Saint-Marc Arrondissement, Pont-Sondé is located at an important crossroads on the ...

Artibonite Valley Artibonite Valley (French: ''Vallée de l'Artibonite'') is a valley predominantly in Haiti, on the island of Hispaniola. The Artibonite River flows through the valley, with headwaters in the Dominican Republic as well. The valley's watershed prov ...

, the son of peasant

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

farmers who never had a chance to get a school education. He grew up helping his parents work the land in Haiti to feed himself and his 11 siblings. In 1961, his family sold some land so he could fly to the United States to pursue a college education at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

. Siméus transferred to

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in Washington, DC, where he earned a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. In 1970, he became a US citizen. In 1972, he earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Graduate School of Business.

Career

He worked his way up the corporate ladder. He was a financial analyst at

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avioni ...

and

KB Home KB Home is an American homebuilding company founded in 1957 as Kaufman & Broad in Detroit, Michigan. It was the first company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange as a home builder. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The ...

, a director of Latin American operations for

Bendix Bendix may refer to: People First name * Bendix Hallenstein (1835–1905), New Zealand businessman Middle name * Kim Bendix Petersen (born 1956), Danish singer known by the stage name King Diamond Last name * John E. Bendix (1835–1905), Ame ...

, general manager of Hartz Pet Food, France, and vice president of international business development at

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

. He quickly rose in the corporate world, becoming president of Beatrice Foods, Latin America, and eventually president and chief operating officer of TLC Beatrice International Foods. In 1984, Siméus started working for TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc., the $2.1 billion, black-owned food processing and distribution company. He served as president and CEO for two years before leaving in 1992 to buy and run his own business. In 1996, with $55 million financing, Siméus bought Portion-Trol Foods from

Flagstar Corp Flagstar is the name used by several businesses including: * Flagstar Bank * Flagstar Companies, a successor of Trans World Corporation, which ultimately changed its name to Denny's {{disambig ...

Mansfield, Texas Mansfield is a suburban city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The city is located mostly in Tarrant County, with small parts in Ellis and Johnson counties. Its location is approximately 30 miles from Dalla ...

, and renamed it Siméus Foods International Inc. Siméus Foods, based south of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, manufactures value-added food products for national multichain restaurants and large institutions such as

El Pollo Loco El Pollo Loco (Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken") is the name of three independent restaurant chains that specialize in Mexican-style grilled chicken. The Mexican and American companies were founded by Juan Francisco Ochoa while the Filipino comp ...

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 Restaurant, restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other internationa ...

T.G.I. Friday's TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC, doing business as TGI Fridays, is an American casual dining List of restaurant chains, restaurant chain focusing primarily on American cuisine. The restaurant's name stands for "Thank God It's Friday". TGI Fridays op ...

, and

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

in the United States and Canada. Siméus Foods Intl. now generates $155 million a year. In 1999, Siméus established Org. Sové Lavi www.sovelavi.org, a nonprofit foundation to provide medical care, education, and clothing to Haitians. Between October 2004 and February 2005, he served on

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

's advisory board for Haiti. The group made a series of recommendations for Haïti's security, economic development, and disaster preparedness. A group of about 40 U.S.-based Haitian business and civic leaders has urged him to run for president.

Run for Haitian presidency

After months of speculation, Siméus decided to contest the Haitian presidency in August 2005. Siméus' political platform includes making it easier for companies to invest in Haiti, promoting jobs, and rooting out corruption by making government accountable. Siméus said, "I want to create a Haiti where people are proud to stay because there are opportunities." ..."I want a Haiti where there is access to capital for the average guy, for the poor guy who was born in a hut like I was born in." During his campaign, he ran into a few challenges. His status as a dual citizen became a challenge. Siméus said that he still has Haitian citizenship, despite taking the US oath of allegiance. The Haitian Electoral Board disagreed. Eventually, this matter was taken to the

Supreme Court of Haiti The Supreme Court of Haiti (, ; ) 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 Supreme Court was first ...

, which recently ruled that Siméus could place his name on the ballot, but he still faces election council challenges to his candidacy and a threat of prosecution alleging false candidacy claims on election papers. Article 135 states a presidential candidate must "be a native-born Haitian and never have renounced Haitian nationality" and have resided in the country for five consecutive years before the election. Another challenge is his public acceptance. Siméus was essentially unknown in Haiti prior to 2004 and many viewed him as an outsider. At a campaign rally, he was cordially received in Solino, a crumbling and crime-plagued neighborhood of the Haitian capital

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

, but when his tour reached the Bel Air neighborhood, a stronghold for supporters of ex-president Aristide, dozens of angry men and women rushed onto the streets, hurling rocks and chunks of concrete at Siméus' car, forcing him to flee. On September 27, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a 6-hour visit to Haiti, publicly and pointedly called on Haiti's interim government to hold "inclusive" elections. Rice reportedly pressed Prime Minister

Gérard Latortue Gérard Latortue (; 19 June 1934 – 27 February 2023) was a Haitian politician and diplomat who served as the prime minister of Haiti from 12 March 2004 to 9 June 2006. He was an official in the United Nations for many years, and briefly served ...

for Siméus to be readmitted to the race. On October 11, the Supreme Court ruled in Siméus’ favor, ordering the CEP to put the Texan back on the ballot. A day after the ruling, half of the members of the Supreme Court were forced into retirement by the orders of Gerard Latortue, and his justice minister.

Family

Siméus is married and a father of three. He has brought 40 relatives to the United States, but his parents remain in Haiti."Texas businessman returns to Haiti for presidential run"
''St Petersburg Times'', 20 Oct 2005

External links

Press releases

Simeus Welcomes Dr. Rice, Calls for International Inquiry Into 'Abuse of Power' By Political Insiders to Control Ballot
September 27, 2005

''PRNewswire'' September 30, 2005 * ttp://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-11-2005/0004165965&EDATE= Simeus Wins Ballot Fight in 'A Victory for Change in Haïti'''PRNewswire'' September 30, 2005
Simeus Applauds Kofi Annan and UN, Addresses Nation to Decry Prime Minister as a Threat to Free, Fair Elections in Haïti
October 18, 2005

News articles

James Cox, ''USA TODAY'', April 29, 2004

Danna Harman (The Christian Science Monitor), ''USA Today'', August 17, 2005
Wealthy Haïti Expatriate Plans to Run for President
''VOA News'', August 19, 2005

Alfred De Montesquiou, ''

Guardian Unlimited ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', September 16, 2005
Businessman Appeals Decision Barring Run for Haïti's Presidency
''VOA News'', September 25, 2005
Texas businessman returns to Haïti for presidential run
David Adams, ''St Petersburg Times'', October 20, 2005
Texas Businessman Seeks Haitian Presidency
Steve Quinn ''The Associated Press'' October 23, 2005

Interviews

Ayiti "LE COIN DE CARL" Edition Speciale
September 8, 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simeus, Dumarsais 1939 births Candidates for President of Haiti Haitian emigrants to the United States Living people Howard University alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni American chief executives of food industry companies Naturalized citizens of the United States Bendix Corporation people