The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Haiti

This page contains a list of the greatest Haitian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 40 of which were born in Haiti. This makes Haiti the birth place of the 71st most number of Politicians behind Paraguay, and Bolivia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Haitian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Haitian Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Haitian Politicians.

1. Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1758 - 1806)

With an HPI of 66.65, Jean-Jacques Dessalines is the most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 53 different languages on wikipedia.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: Jan-Jak Desalin; French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʒak dɛsalin]; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was the first Haitian Emperor, and leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. Initially regarded as governor-general, Dessalines was later named Emperor of Haiti as Jacques I (1804–1806) by generals of the Haitian Revolutionary army and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806. He spearheaded the resistance against French massacres upon Haitians, and eventually became the architect of the 1804 Haitian Massacre against the remaining French residents of Haiti, including some supporters of the revolution. Alongside Toussaint Louverture, he has been referred to as one of the fathers of the nation of Haiti. Dessalines was directly responsible for the country, and, under his rule, Haiti became the first country in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery. Dessalines served as an officer in the French army when the colony was fending off Spanish and British incursions. Later he rose to become a commander in the revolt against France. As Toussaint Louverture's principal lieutenant, he led many successful engagements, including the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot. In 1802, Louverture was betrayed and captured, and sent to prison in France, where he died. Thereafter, Dessalines became the leader of the revolution and Général-Chef de l'Armée Indigène on 18 May 1803. His forces defeated the French army at the Battle of Vertières on 18 November 1803. Saint-Domingue was declared independent on 29 November and then as the independent Republic of Haiti on 1 January 1804, under the leadership of Dessalines, chosen by a council of generals to assume the office of governor-general. He ordered the 1804 Haitian massacre of the remaining French population in Haiti, resulting in the deaths of between 3,000 and 5,000 people, including women and children, as well as thousands of refugees. Some modern historians classify the massacre as a genocide due to its systemic nature. Notably, he excluded surviving Polish Legionnaires, who had defected from the French legion to become allied with the enslaved Africans, as well as the Germans who did not take part in the slave trade. He granted them full citizenship under the constitution and classified them as black, along with all other Haitian citizens. Tensions remained with the minority of mixed-race or free people of color, who had gained some education and property during the colonial period.

2. Boniface Alexandre (1936 - 2023)

With an HPI of 61.42, Boniface Alexandre is the 2nd most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Boniface Alexandre (French pronunciation: [bɔnifas alɛksɑ̃dʁ]; 31 July 1936 – 4 August 2023) was a Haitian politician. Alexandre served as the provisional president of Haiti following the 2004 coup d'état that removed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. He served until May 2006.

3. Jean-Claude Duvalier (1951 - 2014)

With an HPI of 60.59, Jean-Claude Duvalier is the 3rd most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Jean-Claude Duvalier (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃klod dyvalje]; 3 July 1951 – 4 October 2014), nicknamed "Baby Doc" (French: Bébé Doc, Haitian Creole: Bebe Dòk), was a Haitian politician who was the President of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in February 1986. He succeeded his father François "Papa Doc" Duvalier as the ruler of Haiti after his death in 1971. After assuming power, he introduced cosmetic changes to his father's regime and delegated much authority to his advisors. Thousands of Haitians were killed or tortured, and hundreds of thousands fled the country during his presidency. He maintained a notoriously lavish lifestyle (including a state-sponsored US$2 million wedding in 1980) while poverty among his people remained the most widespread of any country in the Western Hemisphere. Relations with the United States improved after Duvalier's ascension to the presidency, and later deteriorated under the Carter administration, only to normalize under Ronald Reagan due to the strong anti-communist stance of the Duvaliers. Rebellion against the Duvalier regime broke out in 1985, and Duvalier fled to France in 1986 on a U.S. Air Force flight. Duvalier unexpectedly returned to Haiti on 16 January 2011, after two decades in self-imposed exile in France. The following day, he was arrested by Haitian police, facing possible charges for embezzlement. On 18 January, Duvalier was charged with corruption. On 28 February 2013, Duvalier pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and human rights abuse. He died of a heart attack on 4 October 2014, at the age of 63. Transparency International determined that the money embezzled by Duvalier was the sixth most embezzled by a sitting head of government between 1984 and 2004.

4. Alexandre Pétion (1770 - 1818)

With an HPI of 59.30, Alexandre Pétion is the 4th most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Alexandre Sabès Pétion (French pronunciation: [alɛksɑ̃dʁ sabɛs petjɔ̃]; 2 April 1770 – 29 March 1818) was the first president of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. One of Haiti's founding fathers, Pétion belonged to the revolutionary quartet that also includes Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his later rival Henri Christophe. Regarded as an excellent artilleryman in his early adulthood, Pétion would distinguish himself as an esteemed military commander with experience leading both French and Haitian troops. The 1802 coalition formed by him and Dessalines against French forces led by Charles Leclerc would prove to be a watershed moment in the decade-long conflict, eventually culminating in the decisive Haitian victory at the Battle of Vertières in 1803.

5. Jean-Pierre Boyer (1776 - 1850)

With an HPI of 59.26, Jean-Pierre Boyer is the 5th most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Jean-Pierre Boyer (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ pjɛʁ bwaje]; 15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and the president of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also annexed the newly independent Spanish Haiti (Santo Domingo), which brought all of Hispaniola under one Haitian government by 1822. Serving as president for just under 25 years, Boyer managed to rule for the longest period of time of any Haitian leader. Boyer was born in Port-au-Prince and was the biracial son of a French tailor and an African mother, a former slave from the Congo. He was sent to France by his father for his education. During the French Revolution, he fought as a battalion commander, and fought against Toussaint Louverture in the early years of the Haitian Revolution. He later allied himself with André Rigaud, also of mulatto ancestry, in the latter's abortive insurrection against Toussaint to try to keep control of the southern region of Saint-Domingue. After going into exile in France, Boyer and Alexandre Pétion returned in 1802 with the French troops led by General Charles Leclerc. After it became clear the French were going to try to reimpose slavery and restrictions on free gens de couleur, Boyer joined the patriots under Pétion and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who led the colony to independence. After Pétion rose to power in the Republic of Haiti in the South, he chose Boyer as his successor. He was reportedly under the influence of his (and his predecessor's) lover, Marie-Madeleine Lachenais, who acted as his political adviser. When Santo Domingo became independent late in 1821, Boyer was quick to occupy and gain control, uniting the entire island under his rule by 9 February 1822. Boyer ruled the island of Hispaniola until 1843, when he lost the support of the ruling elite and was ousted. After the uprising of African slaves in the north of Saint-Domingue in 1791, Boyer joined with the French Commissioners and went there to fight against the grand blancs (plantation owners) and royalists. In 1794, Saint-Domingue was invaded by British forces trying to capitalize on the current unrest to capture the colony. Boyer went to Jacmel, where he joined forces with mulatto leader, General André Rigaud. While other mulatto leaders surrendered to Toussaint Louverture in southern Saint-Domingue, Boyer escaped to France with Rigaud and Alexandre Pétion. At the time, the United States supported French efforts to re-establish control over the colony, and France dispatched 20,000 troops to Saint-Dominingue. Boyer traveled to Paris, where he stayed until 1801. Next, he returned to Haiti to protest the independence that Toussaint Louverture had just achieved. By early 1802, Rigaud and other leaders learned that the French intended to take away the civil rights of mulattoes and re-institute slavery for former slaves in Saint-Domingue (as they had managed to do in Guadeloupe.) They sent General LeClerc to defeat the rebels, and over the next 21 months, added to his forces by 20,000 troops. Boyer collaborated with other native leaders to defeat the French. In November 1803, France withdrew its surviving 7,000 troops, less than one-third of the forces sent to the island. Most had died as a result of yellow fever, which was endemic to the island. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a former slave from the North, declared Haitian independence on 1 January 1804. He established himself as Emperor Jacques I. He was assassinated by opponents in 1806. Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe competed to rule Haiti, and represented the split between the urban mulatto elite of the South and the black former slaves of the North, respectively. After years of warfare, they established separate states: Pétion continuing the Republic of Haiti in the southern part of Haiti, and Christophe creating the State (later Kingdom) of Haiti in the north. In 1818 Pétion died and Boyer replaced him as the second President of the Republic of Haiti. This was an arranged transition since Pétion had selected Boyer as his successor and the Senate approved his choice. The 1816 revised constitution provided for the President to select his successor as a measure to protect the nation from foreign intrusion. Joseph Balthazar Inginac also continued as the President's secretary and right hand. Boyer believed Haiti had to be acknowledged as an independent nation to maintain its independence, and that this could be established only by cutting a deal with France. On 11 July 1825, Boyer signed an indemnity treaty stipulating that Haiti would pay France indemnities to compensate for the lost property in slaves and trade in exchange for formal diplomatic recognition of its independence. The indemnities which continued until 1947 comprised up to 80 percent of the revenue of Haiti's government and severely limited the government's capacity to function and invest in infrastructure and development. As soon as Boyer came to power, he was confronted with the continuing competition with Henri Christophe and the Kingdom of Haiti in the north. Christophe's autocratic rule created continued unrest in the Kingdom of Haiti. After his soldiers rebelled against him in 1820, in failing health and fearing assassination, Christophe committed suicide. Boyer reunited Haiti without a single battle. On 30 November 1821, Jose Nunez de Caceres, president of the Spanish side of Hispaniola, declared the independence of the Spanish side of the island. The new nation was known as the Republic of Spanish Haiti. On 1 December 1821, the leaders of the new nation resolved to unite it with Gran Colombia. Boyer sought to protect his country from the danger of France or Spain re-taking the Spanish side of the island and using it as a foothold to attack or re-conquer Haiti. He wanted to maintain Haitian independence and secure the freedom of the slaves in Santo Domingo. After promising protection to several Dominican frontier governors and securing their allegiance, in February 1822 Boyer annexed the newly independent state with a force of 50,000 soldiers. These forces encountered little resistance from the considerably smaller Dominican population. On 9 February 1822, Boyer formally entered the capital city, Santo Domingo, where Jose Núñez de Cáceres handed over the keys to the city. Dominicans reacted uneasily to the Haitian invasion. The island of Hispaniola was now united under one government from Cape Tiburon to Cape Samana. By awarding land to Haitian military officers at the expense of former members of the Spanish forces of Santo Domingo, Boyer reduced his influence with the Spanish-Haitian leadership. He continued the policy of Pétion, his former political mentor, of helping free blacks in other Spanish-American colonies to resist the Spanish crown. Boyer ignored Haitian political opponents who called for reforms, such as parliamentary democracy, and veteran generals of the War of Independence, who believed that the revolution was not complete and that they were being neglected. Boyer, and his assistants, Joseph Balthazar Inginac and Jonathas Granville, were deeply involved with the massive migration of black Americans to Haiti in 1824. Yet, this event did not happen in a vacuum. Neither did the migrants respond reflexively to the promises the Haitian government offered. The migration is often called a failure because of the 6,000 (or more) migrants, a couple thousand of those emigrants returned to the U.S. However, those who stayed often had a different assessment of the migration. The term failure, then, should be applied to the prospects the Haitian government had with the migrants and the idea many white philanthropists in the U.S. had of relocating the entire black population out of the country. None of these two objectives were met. Yet, for the descendants of the migrants now living in the Peninsula of Samaná and those who also assimilated into the local culture, the migration gave them the opportunity to find new life on the island, and often, to interact in a wider black diaspora through commerce and industry—their knowledge of the English language gave them an edge in Haiti. The American Colonization Society (ACS) noticed the recruitment effort. Concerned that free blacks could never assimilate to the United States, its members founded their society in 1816 to "repatriate" American blacks to Africa, regardless of where they had been born. It was an uneasy collaboration between abolitionists and slaveholders, who approached the issue from differing viewpoints. The ACS planned colonization in what became Liberia for former slaves. In 1817 Loring D. Dewey toured the East Coast to recruit emigrants, starting in New York. The organization hoped to resettle 100,000 free blacks within 10 years. Dewey's meetings with people in New York convinced him to abandon the idea of colonizing Liberia. Most American blacks did not want to leave what they considered was fully their native country. Dewey met with Haitian citizens in New York, most of whom were refugee ethnic French and free blacks who had fled the revolution. They recommended Haiti as the ideal black homeland, due to its moderate weather conditions and independent black government. After Dewey wrote to Boyer to determine if he was still interested in receiving American immigrants, Boyer proposed that Haiti would seek blacks exclusively from the United States. The ACS sent Boyer questions related to its goal of a colony for American free blacks. Boyer was confident that his government would be able to receive these people. The ACS tried to negotiate to have the Haitian government pay transportation costs for the emigrants. Boyer responded that the government would pay for those who could not afford it, but the ACS would have to take care of the rest of the finances. Haiti was already in debt to the French, which had exacted high payment for lost properties of planters, in essence making Haiti pay for its independence. The government did not have funds to transport American families to Haiti. Dewey proposed establishing a colony for American free blacks that would be separate from the rest of the island, with its own laws, legislature, etc. Boyer was opposed to the idea of an American colony on the island, since the Haitians already feared re-colonization by the French. He told Dewey that the laws of the Haitian government applied to everyone across Haiti. Beginning in September 1824, nearly 6,000 Americans, mostly free blacks, migrated to Haiti within a year, with ships departing from New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Due to the poverty of the island and the inability of Boyer's administration to help support the new immigrants in the transition, most returned to the United States within a short period of time. Boyer was anxious to eliminate the threat from France and opened negotiations. An agreement was reached on 11 July 1825, when Boyer signed an indemnity treaty. It stated that France would recognize Haiti as an independent country in return for 150 million francs paid within five years. While this sum was later reduced to 90 million francs (in 1838), it was a crushing economic blow to Haiti. Boyer had to negotiate a loan from France of 30 million francs to pay the first part of the indemnity. Most of the largely rural Haitian population meanwhile was retreating into an agricultural subsistence pattern. He tried to enforce the semi-feudal fermage system in order to increase agricultural productivity on the island, but the people resisted being tied to other people's lands. With the Rural Act, Boyer resurrected a land distribution program. He broke up some of the large plantations and distributed land to the small farmers. To try to produce enough products for export to generate revenue, the government "tied" the rural population to their smallholdings and established production quotas. Boyer's rule lasted until 1843, when the poor economic situation was worsened by the 1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake. The disadvantaged majority rural population rose up under Charles Rivière-Hérard in late January. On 13 February 1843, Boyer fled Haiti to nearby Jamaica. He eventually settled in exile in France, where he died in Paris in 1850. Descendants of Boyer still live in Haiti. Haiti was the first sovereign state to recognize the Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Jean-Pierre Boyer, following a Greek request for assistance, addressed a letter on 15 January 1822. In the letter sent to Greek expatriates living in France, Adamantios Korais, Christodoulos Klonaris, Konstantinos Polychroniades and A. Bogorides, who had assembled themselves into a Committee which was seeking international support for the ongoing Greek revolution, expressed his support for the Greek Revolution and compared the struggle underfoot across the Atlantic to the struggle for independence in his own land. He apologized for being unable to support the Revolution in Greece financially, though he hoped he might be able to in the future. But he articulated his moral and political support for the revolution, notably by filling his letter with references to classical Greek history, demonstrating a detailed knowledge of this history and powerfully evoking the contemporary revolutionaries as the rightful heirs of their ancestors. Some historians claim that Boyer also sent to the Greeks 25 tons of Haitian coffee that could be sold and the proceeds used to purchase weapons, but not enough evidence exists to support this or the other claim that one hundred Haitian volunteers set off to fight in the Greek Revolution. Allegedly, their ship was boarded by pirates somewhere in the Mediterranean and these fighters purportedly never reached their destination. Below is the letter to the Greeks translated in English (the letter was originally written in French): LIBERTE (the flag) EGALITE JEAN PIERRE BOYER President of Haiti To the citizens of Greece A. Korais, K. Polychoroniades, A. Bogorides and Ch. Klonaris. In Paris "Before I received your letter from Paris, dated last August 20, the news about the revolution of your co-citizens against the despotism which lasted for about three centuries had already arrived here. With great enthusiasm we learned that Hellas was finally forced to take up arms in order to gain her freedom and the position that she once held among the nations of the world. Such a beautiful and just case, most importantly, the first successes which have accompanied it, cannot leave Haitians indifferent, for we, like the Hellenes, were for a long time subjected to a dishonorable slavery and finally, with our own chains, broke the head of tyranny. Wishing to Heavens to protect the descendants of Leonidas, we thought to assist these brave warriors, if not with military forces and ammunition, at least with money, which will be useful for acquisition of guns, which you need. But events that have occurred and imposed financial restrictions onto our country absorbed the entire budget, including the part that could be disposed by our administration. Moreover, at present, the revolution which triumphs on the eastern portion of our island is creating a new obstacle in carrying out our aim; in fact, this portion, which was incorporated into the Republic I preside over, is in extreme poverty and thus justifies immense expenditures of our budget. If the circumstances, as we wish, improve again, then we shall honorably assist you, the sons of Hellas, to the best of our abilities. Citizens! Convey to your co-patriots the warm wishes that the people of Haiti send on the behalf of your liberation. The descendants of ancient Hellenes look forward, in the reawakening of their history, to trophies worthy of Salamis. May they prove to be like their ancestors and guided by the commands of Miltiades, and be able, in the fields of new Marathon, to achieve the triumph of the holy affair that they have undertaken on behalf of their rights, religion and motherland. May it be, at last, through their wise decisions, that they will be commemorated by history as the heirs of the endurance and virtues of their ancestors. In the 15th of January 1822 and the 19th year of Independence" BOYER Boyer, Jean-Pierre and Loring Dewey, Society for Promoting the Emigration of Free Persons of Colour to Hayti (Mayday, 1824). Brown, Gordon S., Toussaint’s Clause: The Founding Fathers of the Haitian Revolution (Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2005). Hazard, Samuel, Santo Domingo: Past and Present, with a Glance at Hayti, Harper & Brothers, 1873 Leger, Jacques Nicolas, Haiti, Her History and Her Detractors (New York: The Neale Publishing Company, 1907). Miller, Floyd J., The Search for Black Nationality: Black Emigration and Colonization 1787–1863 (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1975). Shick, Tom. W, Contemporary Sociology 11/1/76, Vol. 5 Issue 6, pp. 798–799, 2p. Staudenraus, P.J., The African Colonization Movement 1816–1865 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961). Media related to Jean-Pierre Boyer at Wikimedia Commons Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: Jean-Pierre Boyer Professor Hidalgo's article on Jean-Pierre Boyer

6. René Préval (1943 - 2017)

With an HPI of 59.24, René Préval is the 6th most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

René Garcia Préval (French pronunciation: [ʁəne ɡaʁsja pʁeval]; 17 January 1943 – 3 March 2017) was a Haitian politician and agronomist who twice was President of Haiti, from early 1996 to early 2001, and again from mid-2006 to mid-2011. He was also Prime Minister from early to late 1991 under the presidency of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In addition to being the first elected head of state since independence to serve a full term, the first to be elected to full terms of office without succeeding, the first to peacefully transfer power, and the first former prime minister to be elected president, Préval was also the first elected head of state in Haitian history to do so. Préval promoted privatization of government companies, agrarian reform, and investigations of human rights abuses. His presidencies were marked by domestic tumult and attempts at economic stabilization, with his latter term seeing the destruction brought by the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

7. Ariel Henry (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 57.47, Ariel Henry is the 7th most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Ariel Henry (French pronunciation: [aʁjɛl ɑ̃ʁi]; born 6 November 1949) is a Haitian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the acting prime minister after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, until his formal resignation on 24 April 2024. During this period where the role of the head of state was vacant, the Council of Ministers he presided exercised executive power. He also served as the acting Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities. Henry became involved in a controversy due to his refusal to cooperate with the authorities regarding his connections with Joseph-Félix Badio, one of the suspects accused of orchestrating the assassination of Moïse. Officers who investigated the case suspected Henry was involved in planning the assassination. On 11 March 2024, Henry announced that he would resign when a transitional presidential council was created, doing so on 24 April 2024 when the council was installed. Henry's outgoing cabinet appointed the Minister of Finance and Economy Michel Patrick Boisvert as the interim Prime Minister.

8. Anacaona (b. 1474)

With an HPI of 55.90, Anacaona is the 8th most famous Haitian Politician. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Anacaona (1474?–1504), or Golden Flower, was a Taíno cacica, or female cacique (chief), religious expert, poet and composer born in Xaragua. Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Ayiti or Quisqueya to the Taínos (the Spaniards named it La Española, i.e., Hispaniola — now known as the Dominican Republic and Haiti) was divided into five kingdoms, i.e., Xaragua, Maguana, Higüey, Maguá, and Marién. Anacaona was born into a family of caciques. She was the sister of Bohechío, the ruler of Xaragua. She succeeded Bohechío as cacica after his death. In 1503, Nicolás Ovando, the governor of the island, visited Xaragua. He suspected an insurrection was brewing among the Taíno chiefs, including Anacaona, presently in the kingdom. Ovando gave the order for the caciques to be captured and burned. Anacaona was hanged.

9. Jean-Bertrand Aristide (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 55.80, Jean-Bertrand Aristide is the 9th most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ bɛʁtʁɑ̃ aʁistid]; born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. As a priest, he taught liberation theology and, as a president, he attempted to normalize Afro-Creole culture, including Vodou religion, in Haiti. Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies to become a priest. He became a focal point for the pro-democracy movement first under Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier and then under the military transition regime which followed. He won the 1990–91 Haitian general election, with 67% of the vote. Aristide was briefly president of Haiti, until a September 1991 military coup. The coup regime collapsed in 1994 under U.S. pressure and threat of force (Operation Uphold Democracy), and Aristide was president again from 1994 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2004. He was ousted in the 2004 coup d'état after right-wing ex-army paramilitary units invaded the country from across the Dominican border. Aristide and many others have alleged that the United States had a role in orchestrating the coup against him. In 2022, numerous Haitian and French officials told The New York Times that France and the United States had effectively overthrown Aristide by pressuring him to step down, though this was denied by James Brendan Foley, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti at the time of the coup. Aristide went into exile in the Central African Republic and South Africa. He returned to Haiti in 2011 after seven years in exile.

10. Faustin Soulouque (1782 - 1867)

With an HPI of 54.91, Faustin Soulouque is the 10th most famous Haitian Politician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Faustin-Élie Soulouque (French pronunciation: [fostɛ̃ eli suluk]; 15 August 1782 – 3 August 1867) was a Haitian politician and military commander who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque was a general in the Haitian Army when he was appointed President of Haiti. He acquired autocratic powers, purged the army of the ruling elite, installed black loyalists in administrative positions and the nobility, and created a secret police and private army. Soulouque was an enthusiastic vodouisant, maintaining a staff of bokors and manbos, and gave the stigmatized vodou religion semi-official status which was openly practiced in Port-au-Prince. Soulouque declared the Second Empire of Haiti in 1849 after being proclaimed Emperor under the name Faustin I, and formally crowned in 1852. Several unsuccessful attempts to reconquer the Dominican Republic eroded his support and he abdicated in 1859 under pressure from General Fabre Geffrard and Dominican military victory. Soulouque was temporarily exiled to Jamaica before returning to Haiti where he died in 1867. Soulouque was the last Haitian head of state to have participated in the Haitian Revolution, the last to have been born prior to independence, the last ex-slave and the last to officially style himself as a king or emperor.

People

Pantheon has 46 people classified as Haitian politicians born between 1474 and 1980. Of these 46, 18 (39.13%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Haitian politicians include Ariel Henry, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and Michel Martelly. The most famous deceased Haitian politicians include Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Boniface Alexandre, and Jean-Claude Duvalier. As of April 2024, 5 new Haitian politicians have been added to Pantheon including Jean-Jacques Honorat, Fabre Geffrard, and Hérard Abraham.