Jocelerme Privert

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

Jocelerme Privert
President of Haiti Interim
In office 14 February 2016 – 7 February 2017
Prime Minister	Evans Paul Fritz Jean Enex Jean-Charles
Preceded by	Michel Martelly
Succeeded by	Jovenel Moïse
President of the Haitian Senate
In office 14 January 2016 – 14 February 2016
Preceded by	Andris Riché
Succeeded by	Ronald Larêche
Personal details
Born	1 February 1953 Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Haiti
Political party	Inite
Spouse(s)	Ginette Michaud

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.

Accusation of massacre and incarceration

Privert was 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 elections, 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]

Provisional presidency

Privert was elected by the Senate as the provisional 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 was originally scheduled to be held on 24 April 2016, but the Conseil Electoral Provisoire decided on 5 April 2016 to hold a new election in early October 2016.

On 14 June 2016, his presidential term expired, but he remained de facto president as the National Assembly refused to meet to appoint a successor.[7][8] On February 7, 2017, he was succeeded by Jovenel Moïse of the political party Martelly founded, the Haitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK) who won the November 2016 election.[9]

Personal life

Privert is an accountant. 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 Privert (her French Wikipedia entry).[10]

References

1. Jocelerme Privert
2. Ed 2002 (2002). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002. Routledge. p. 476.
3. "Political Affairs Magazine - "La Scierie" Prisoners Dragged Before St. Marc Kangaroo Court". web.archive.org. Jun 15, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. Retrieved Feb 15, 2019.
4. "Web Page Under Construction". www.lematinhaiti.com. Retrieved Feb 15, 2019.
5. "InvestAsian | Buy Property & Stocks in Asia | Skip the Next Recession". Emergingfrontiers.com. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
6. "Haiti lawmakers elect Jocelerme Privert as interim president". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved Feb 15, 2019.
7. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/interim-presidents-mandate-expires-drifting-haiti-39864576
8. Maxime, Samuel (14 June 2016). "President falls de facto". Haiti Sentinel. Sentinel Publishing. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
9. "Businessman Moise wins Haiti election in first round - provisional..." Nov 29, 2016. Retrieved Feb 15, 2019 – via uk.reuters.com.
10. Charles, Jacqueline (17 February 2016). "Haiti's Jocelerme Privert: From 'political prisoner' to president". Miami Herald. Miami Herald. Retrieved 17 March 2016.