Élie Lescot
| Élie Lescot | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| President of Haiti | |
|
In office May 15, 1941 – January 11, 1946 |
|
| Preceded by | Sténio Vincent |
| Succeeded by | Franck Lavaud (Chairman of the Military Executive Committee) |
| Minister of Interior | |
|
In office September 20, 1933 – May 15, 1934 |
|
| President | Sténio Vincent |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Titus |
| Minister of Interior and Justice | |
|
In office May 17, 1932 – September 20, 1933 |
|
| President | Sténio Vincent |
| Preceded by | Emmanuel Rampy |
| Succeeded by |
Himself (Interior) Joseph Titus (Justice) |
| Minister of National Education, Agriculture and Labor | |
|
In office January 27, 1930 – April 22, 1930 |
|
| President | Louis Borno |
| Preceded by | Hannibal Price IV |
| Succeeded by | Louis Edouard Rousseau |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Antoine Louis Léocardie Élie Lescot December 9, 1883 Saint-Louis-du-Nord, Haiti |
| Died | October 20, 1974 (aged 90) Laboule, Haiti |
| Nationality | Haitian |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Corinne Jean-Pierre, Georgina Saint-Aude (1892-1984) |
| Children | Andrée Lescot |
| Profession | Pharmacist |
Antoine Louis Léocardie Élie Lescot (December 9, 1883 – October 20, 1974) was the President of Haiti from May 15, 1941 to January 11, 1946. He was a member of the country's mixed-race elite. He used the political climate of World War II to sustain his power and ties to the United States, Haiti's powerful northern neighbor. His administration presided over a period of economic downturn and harsh political repression of dissidents.
Lescot was born in Saint-Louis-du-Nord to a middle-class mixed-race family, descended from free persons of color in the colonial era. He traveled to Port-au-Prince to study pharmacy after completing his secondary education in Cap-Haïtien. He settled in Port-de-Paix to work in the export-import business.
After his first wife died in 1911, Lescot entered politics. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies two years later. After a four-year stay in France during the United States occupation of Haiti (1915 to 1934), he returned and held posts in the Louis Borno and Sténio Vincent administrations. Four years later he was named ambassador to the neighboring Dominican Republic, where he forged an alliance with President Rafael Trujillo. He moved to Washington, D.C., after being appointed as ambassador to the United States.
His close political and economic ties to the United States helped lay the groundwork for his ascendancy to Haiti's presidency, and he received the State Department's tacit backing for his campaign to succeed Sténio Vincent in 1941. Prominent members of the Chamber of Deputies opposed his candidacy, arguing Haiti needed a black president from a majority African ancestry. Taking the advantage of Trujillo's influence, Lescot was said to buy his way into power. He won 56 out of 58 votes cast by legislators. Deputy Max Hudicourt claimed the margin of victory was due to intimidation and beatings of legislators.
...
Wikipedia