Jocelerme Privert

Jocelerme Privert
President of Haiti Interim
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 February 2016
Prime Minister	Evans Paul Fritz Jean (Acting) Enex Jean-Charles (Acting)
Preceded by	Michel Martelly
President of the Senate
In office 14 January 2016 – 14 February 2016
Preceded by	Andris Riché
Succeeded by	Vacant
Personal details
Born	1 February 1953 Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Haiti
Political party	Inite
Spouse(s)	Ginette Michaud

Jocelerme Privert (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɔslɛʁm pʁivɛʁ]; born 1 February 1953^[1]) is a Haitian accountant, bureaucrat, politician and currently the interim President of Haiti.

Political career

Early political career

A longtime politician, he first served as the economics and finance minister under Jean-Bertrand Aristide during 2001 and 2002.^[2] Aristide reappointed him Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities in 2002 and served until 2004 Haitian coup d'état that removed Aristide from the presidency.

False accusation of massacre and incarceration

Privert was falsely accused of involvement in the La Scierie massacre in Saint-Marc and arrested on 4 April 2004. According to Haitian organizations defending human rights, dozens of people were killed in February 2004 in the town of Saint-Marc, an opposition stronghold at that time. Jocelerme Privert was released after 26 months in prison.^[3]

Later political career

After his release from prison, he served as an advisor to then-president René Préval. He subsequently ran for a senate seat in a 2008 by-election in Nippes department, but was not elected. He was later, eventually, elected Senator for Nippes department in the 2010 general election, serving from 26 April 2011 and until he was elected by the Senate to serve as its president.^[4] He was also the President of the Senate Committee on Economy and Finance.^[5]

Interim presidency

Privert was elected by the Senate as the interim President of Haiti on 14 February 2016, pending a general election in no more than 120 days.^[6]

A general run-off election date was later agreed between Jovenel Moïse and Jude Célestin will be held on 24 April 2016.

Personal life

Privert is an accountant before his political roles. He served in the General Tax Directorate (a governmental agency) from 1979 until the directorate was removed in 1999.

Privert is married to Ginette Michaud.^[7]

References

1. Jocelerme Privert
2. Ed 2002 (2002). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002. Routledge. p. 476.
3. 5.La Scierie” Prisoners Dragged Before St. Marc Kangaroo Court
6. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
7. Charles, Jacqueline (17 February 2016). "Haiti’s Jocelerme Privert: From ‘political prisoner’ to president". Miami Herald. Miami Herald. Retrieved 17 March 2016.