Categories: World

Haiti’s former interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue dies at the age of 88

close Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for February 27

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

Gérard Latortue, a former interim prime minister of Haiti who helped rebuild and unite the country after a violent coup in the mid-2000s, has died. He was 88.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Latortue’s death Monday, saying it was a tremendous loss for the nation. He described Latortue as “a reformer, a convinced patriot, an eminent technocrat, a voice of change, of development (and) a supporter of democracy.”

Latortue was a former exile who was sworn in as interim prime minister in March 2004 following months of bloodshed and political strife that left more than 300 dead and culminated in the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The turmoil at the time prompted the U.S. military to escalate its mission in Haiti.

UN CONDEMNS HAITIAN GANG VIOLENCE SPIKE

In a July 2004 interview with The Associated Press in Washington, Latortue vowed to fight corruption and disarm powerful gangs as he requested $1.3 billion from the international community to help rebuild Haiti after the violent revolt.

In September 2005, he welcomed former U.S. State Secretary Condoleezza Rice to Haiti, where she stressed the need for local officials to accelerate the process to hold general elections.

Haitian interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue attends a conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna on Nov. 28, 2005. Latortue has died at age of 88, according to Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Feb. 27, 2023.  (AP Photo/Rudi Blaha, File)

Latortue said at the time that his administration shared the same concerns as the U.S. government and the international community, and that the administration would honor the results of the upcoming elections.

SUSPECTED HAITIAN GANG MEMBER TIED TO MURDERS OF 6 COPS ARRESTED

“This government has no concerns whatsoever as to who will be the next president. Whoever that is, we will greet that person with open arms and pass power on to him or her,” Latortue said at the time.

In February 2006, Haiti held general elections to replace the interim government of Latortue, who was succeeded by former Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis. The provisional president, Boniface Alexandre, was succeeded by former President René Préval.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

On Tuesday, former Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant tweeted that Latortue was “a pragmatic politician who knew how, in a very difficult context, to lead the country to free and democratic elections.”

Latortue had previously served as Haiti’s foreign minister, as a business consultant in Miami and as an official with the U.N. Industrial Development Organization in Africa.

Share

Recent Posts

UN cash app for Gazans exploited by Hamas as terror group steals aid money meant for civilians

close Video Protesters in Gaza target Hamas For the first time since Hamas seized power…

38 minutes ago

Trump’s First 100 Days: Gitmo took early role in deportations prior to El Salvador prison deal

America’s most notorious federal prison, a terrorist detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, took center…

58 minutes ago

SCOOP: Republicans roll out $69B funding plan for new CBP agents, building border wall in Trump budget bill

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are carving out $68.8 billion for President Donald Trump’s border…

3 hours ago

Taiwan on edge after Pope Francis’s death, closely watching Vatican-China relations

close Video Mourners pay respects to Pope Francis ahead of funeral Mourners from around the…

5 hours ago

Vancouver driver plows into crowd of people attending Filipino festival, killing multiple victims

close Video Multiple dead, others injured after vehicle plows in street festival in Vancouver, Canada…

5 hours ago

Child abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart warns of ‘terrifying territory’ for today’s kids

close Video Abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart offers safety tips to young women Elizabeth Smart, who…

7 hours ago