Joseph Antoine Tancrède Auguste (; March 16, 1856 – May 2, 1913) as the 20th

President of Haiti The president of Haiti (, ), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (, , ), is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of ...

from August 8, 1912 until his death in office on May 2, 1913. He assumed the presidency the day that Cincinnatus Leconte died in office from a massive explosion that destroyed the

presidential palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

. Auguste served in this capacity for less than one year, as he became ill and died while traveling in the north of the country in early May 1913. Although some claim he was the victim of poisoning, his death was caused by severe anemia due to untreated, advanced syphilis. He was the grandfather of Haitian writer Jacques Roumain.

Life

Auguste was born in

Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien (; ; "Haitian Cape") is a List of communes of Haiti, commune of about 400,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Departments of Haiti, department of Nord (Haitian department), Nord. Previously named ''Cap‑Fran� ...

, the son of André P. Auguste and Ernestine Rotgers. He was the owner of a trading house in

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 ...

, then became Minister of the Interior and Police under the presidencies of Florvil Hyppolite and Tirésias Simon Sam. He was part of the Council of Secretaries of State (with Tiresias Simon Sam and Solon Ménos) who ensured the transition to power from March 24, 1896 to March 31, 1896, between the death of Hyppolite and the election of Tiresias Simon Sam. On a trip to the north of the country, Auguste was sick and died May 2, 1913. The Council of Secretaries of State composed of Seymour Pradel, F. Baufosse Laroche, Jacques Nicolas Leger, Tertullien Guilbaud, Edmond Lespinasse and Guatimosin Boco took power from May 3 to 12, 1913. August married Ancelinette Rose Durand on March 16, 1878, with whom he had 7 children. He is the grandfather of Jacques Roumain, a poet, writer, and Communist politician who had a considerable influence on Haitian culture.

References

Presidents of Haiti 1856 births 1913 deaths People from Cap-Haïtien Government ministers of Haiti {{Haiti-politician-stub