Professeur leslie manigat biography

Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat (August 16, 1930 – June 27, 2014) was a Haitian academic, historian, and politician who served briefly as President of Haiti from February 7 to June 20, 1988, following an election conducted under military oversight after the collapse of the Duvalier regime.^[1] Born in Port-au-Prince as one of four children of François Saint-Surin Manigat, he pursued advanced studies in political science at the Sorbonne in Paris, earning a doctorate and establishing a reputation as an intellectual during extended periods of exile amid the Duvalier family's authoritarian rule.^[2] Upon returning to Haiti after Jean-Claude Duvalier's departure in 1986, Manigat positioned himself as a proponent of civilian governance and founded the Rassemblement des Démocrates d'Unit National to contest power in the unstable post-Duvalier landscape.^[2] He secured victory in the January 17, 1988, presidential vote, which delivered him over 50 percent of the tally despite pervasive irregularities, low turnout, and boycotts by major opposition factions, leading many observers to deem the process fraudulent and lacking legitimacy.^[1][3] Manigat's short tenure focused on efforts to diminish the military's dominance and foster institutional reforms, but these initiatives provoked resistance from the armed forces, culminating in a coup d'état orchestrated by General Henri Namphy on June 20, 1988, who accused Manigat of unconstitutional overreach.^[1][4] Exiled once more after the ouster, he continued scholarly work and political engagement, including support for his wife Mirlande Manigat's unsuccessful 2011 presidential bid, until his death from prolonged illness at age 83.^[3] His career exemplified the tensions between intellectual aspirations for democratic transition and the entrenched power of Haiti's military and elite factions.^[2]

Early Life and Education

Birth and Upbringing in Haiti

Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat was born on August 16, 1930, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, into a middle-class family of educators with roots in northern Haiti.^[5][2] His father, François Saint-Surin Manigat, taught mathematics at the secondary level, while his mother, Haydée Augustin, instructed primary school students; he was one of their four children.^[1][5] The family's intellectual orientation extended to prior generations, as Manigat's grandfather, François Manigat, had been a Haitian general, presidential candidate, and ambassador to France.^[5]Manigat spent his formative years in Port-au-Prince, attending local schools and university in Haiti before departing for studies abroad in 1949.^[5][5] His early life unfolded amid Haiti's post-occupation recovery under President Sténio Vincent (1930–1941), a period of economic strain from the Great Depression and natural disasters, followed by the more populist administration of Dumarsais Estimé (1946–1950), which emphasized nationalist policies favoring the black majority over the mulatto elite.^[5] These transitions highlighted persistent class divisions and political flux, including Estimé's overthrow in a 1950 military coup, within which Manigat's middle-class milieu provided relative stability but exposure to broader societal tensions.^[2]

Studies Abroad and Early Influences

In 1949, at the age of 19, Leslie Manigat received a scholarship to pursue studies in political science and philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris.^[6] He remained there until 1953, completing advanced coursework amid France's post-World War II academic environment, which emphasized rigorous analysis of political institutions and historical processes.^[7] During this period, Manigat produced early scholarly work examining Haitian political history, including dissections of transitional "parenthèses" or interregnums in the nation's governance.^[7]By the early 1950s, he had earned a diplôme d'études supérieures from the Sorbonne and a diploma from the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, credentials that positioned him as a trained analyst of statecraft and international relations.^[8] These qualifications reflected immersion in French intellectual traditions of political theory, from Enlightenmentrationalism to contemporary examinations of sovereignty and authority, though Manigat's focus remained rooted in applying such frameworks to Haiti's unique post-colonial challenges.^[8]Manigat returned to Haiti in 1953, entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a junior official, which marked his initial pivot from theoretical scholarship to practical engagement with diplomacy and national policy.^[5] This transition highlighted the foundational role of his Parisian education in equipping him to navigate Haiti's foreign relations during a time of domestic consolidation under emerging authoritarian tendencies.^[5]

Academic and Intellectual Career

Professorship and Scholarly Roles

Manigat returned to Haiti in 1953 following his studies in Paris and assumed roles within the foreign ministry while establishing academic infrastructure.

Descendant de la veille élite conservative du Nord, Manigat, en se lançant dans la politique, ne fait que suivre les sillons de quelques-uns de ses aïeux, dont son grand père, le général Saint-Surin François Manigat. Représentant le département de l’Ouest, elle devint ainsi la première femme à faire partir de ce grand corps.

The contest saw low voter turnout, estimated at around 10-15% amid widespread boycotts by opposition parties, with Manigat securing a majority of the ballots cast in a field of several candidates.^[28][29] This election marked Haiti's first presidential ballot since François Duvalier's 1957 victory, transitioning nominally from junta rule to civilian leadership under military oversight.^[30]Manigat was inaugurated as president on February 7, 1988, in Port-au-Prince, taking office as the nation's first elected leader in over three decades and pledging to uphold the democratic process initiated by the army's transitional framework.^[30][20] In his address, he called for national reconciliation, emphasizing liberty, justice, and the restoration of institutional order after years of dictatorship, while acknowledging the military's role in facilitating the handover.^[31]On February 12, 1988, Manigat announced his cabinet, appointing figures including former junta member Major General Williams Regala as defense minister and other technocrats to key posts such as finance and foreign affairs, aiming to build administrative competence and broaden support.^[32][33] The appointments received unanimous parliamentary approval, reflecting an initial effort to consolidate governance through inclusive yet pragmatic selections that included both civilian experts and military-linked officials.^[34] Early actions focused on stabilizing the fragile transition by addressing immediate administrative needs and signaling continuity with the junta to avoid confrontation, while laying groundwork for civilian oversight of state institutions.^[1]

Military Confrontation and Overthrow

Tensions between President Leslie Manigat and the Haitian Armed Forces escalated in mid-June 1988, primarily over Manigat's efforts to assert civilian authority through command appointments and military restructuring.

Running independently of major coalitions, he appealed primarily to urban professionals and diaspora voters skeptical of radical change or elite capture. Le New York Times par exemple, rapporta plusieurs témoignages abondant en ce sens. Toutefois, au début des années 60, ses relations avec le président du 22 Septembre 1957 se détériora à un point tel qu’il fut l’objet de poursuites de la part du gouvernement.

Accusé de soutenir les grèves des étudiants du début des années 60, il fut emprisonné pendant deux mois en 1963 avant de s’exiler et de s’établir notamment aux États Unis, en France et au Vénézuela.

Reconnu pour ses solides connaissances en histoire et son expertise dans les questions relatives aux relations internationales, il fut appelé à enseigner dans plusieurs universités dont le John Hopkins University à Baltimore Maryland (USA), l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques à Paris, le West Indies Universities à Trinidad, le Yale University (pour une brève période) et à l’Université de Caracas qui porte aujourd’hui le nom de Universidad Central de Venezuela.

En exil, il se rangea du côté de l’opposition et devint, dans les années 70, un militant farouche; un militantisme qui le conduisit à fonder en 1979 au Vénézuela le Rassemblement des Démocrates Nationaux Progressistes (RDNP).

Supportant la candidature et l’idéologie de François Duvalier en 1957, il fonda en 1958, à la demande de celui-ci l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Internationales dont il fut le premier directeur. Leslie François Manigat, une fois de plus s’exila pour ne revenir qu’à la veille des élections de 1990.

Si l’on se réfère aux témoignages de ceux qui l’on connu ou ont vécu avec lui, on sera enclin de dire que Manigat est un personnage pour le moins énigmatique.

A la chute de la maison des Duvalier le 6 Février 1986, comme bon nombre de compatriotes qui ont milité dans l’opposition de l’extérieur, Leslie Francois Manigat reprit le chemin du bercail avec l’idée d’apporter sa part au processus de démocratie qu’on croyait commencer le 7 Février 1986. [s.l., Venezuela] : [s.n.], 1987.

Desroches, Castro.