Cincinnatus Leconte
| Cincinnatus Leconte | |
|---|---|
 |
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| President of Haiti | |
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In office August 15, 1911 – August 8, 1912 |
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| Preceded by | François C. Antoine Simon |
| Succeeded by | Tancrède Auguste |
| Minister of Public Works and Agriculture | |
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In office December 13, 1897 – May 12, 1902 |
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| Preceded by | Jean-Chrisostome Arteaud |
| Succeeded by | Démosthène Césarions |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jean-Jacques Dessalines Michel Cincinnatus Leconte September 29, 1854 Saint-Michel-de-l'Atalaye, Haiti |
| Died | August 8, 1912 (aged 57) Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Nationality | Haitian |
| Political party | National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Reine-Joséphine Laroche |
| Profession | Engineer, businessman, industrialist, teacher |
Jean-Jacques Dessalines Michel Cincinnatus Leconte was President of Haiti from 15 August 1911 until his death on 8 August 1912. He was a great-grandson of Jean-Jacques Dessalines—a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti—and was an uncle of Joseph Laroche, the only black passenger to perish on the RMS Titanic.
Leconte, a lawyer by trade, had served as minister of the interior under President Pierre Nord Alexis. He was forced into exile in Jamaica after a 1908 revolt deposed Alexis and gave François C. Antoine Simon the presidency.
Returning from exile in 1911, Leconte gathered a large military force. After leading the revolution that ousted President Simon and brought Leconte back to Port-au-Prince in triumph on 7 August 1911, Leconte was unanimously elected president of Haiti by Congress on 14 August with a seven-year term. His salary was set at $24,000 a year.
Upon attaining the presidency he instituted a number of reforms: paving streets, increasing teacher pay, installing telephone lines, and decreasing the size of the army.Collier's Weekly argued in August 1912 that it was "generally admitted" that Leconte's administration was "the ablest and the cleanest government Haiti has had in forty years."Zora Neale Hurston, writing in the 1930s after extensive research in Haiti, pointed out that Leconte was "credited with beginning numerous reforms and generally taking positive steps."
Leconte pursued a discriminatory policy toward what was referred to as the "Syrian" population (most were actually Lebanese Christians), an already persecuted minority group which one historian described as constituting the "opening wedge of the American economic conquest of Haiti in the early 1900s." Prior to ascending to the presidency, he had promised to rid Haiti of its Syrian population. In 1912 Leconte's foreign minister released a statement stating that it was "necessary to protect nationals against the disloyal competition of the Easterner whose nationality is uncertain." A 1903 law (aimed specifically at Syrians) limiting the immigration levels and commercial activities of foreigners was revived, and the harassment of Syrians that had been prevalent in the first few years of the 1900s was resumed. The Leconte administration did, however, continue to process claims made by Syrians who had been persecuted by the government of Nord Alexis. When Leconte died suddenly in 1912, a number of Syrians celebrated his passing and were imprisoned as a result, while others were deported. His Syrian policy would be continued by his successor Tancrède Auguste.
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Wikipedia