Fabre Geffrard
| Fabre-Nicolas Geffrard | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 8th President of Haiti | |
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In office January 15, 1859 – March 13, 1867 |
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| Preceded by | Faustin I of Haiti |
| Succeeded by | Nissage Saget (provisional) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Guillaume Fabre Nocolas Geffrard September 23, 1806 Anse-à-Veau, Haiti |
| Died | December 31, 1878 (aged 72) Kingston, Jamaica |
| Nationality | Haitian |
| Spouse(s) | Marguerite Lorvana McIntosh |
| Profession | Military |
Guillaume Fabre Nicolas Geffrard (September 19, 1806 – December 31, 1878) was a mulatto general in the Haitian army and President of Haiti from 1859 until his deposition in 1867. After collaborating in a coup to remove Faustin Soulouque from power in order to return Haiti back to the social and political control of the colored elite, Geffrard was made president in 1859. To placate the peasants he renewed the practice of selling state-owned lands and ended a schism with the Roman Catholic Church which then took on an important role in improving education. After surviving several rebellions, he was overthrown by Major Sylvain Salnave in 1867.
His first act as president was to cut the army in half from 30,000 to 15,000. He also formed his own presidential guards called Les Tirailleurs de la Garde, who were trained under him personally. In June 1859, Geffrard founded the National Law School and reinstituted the Medical School that Boyer began. His ministers of Education, Jean Simon Elie-Dubois and François Elie-Dubois, modernized and established many lycea in Jacmel, Jérémie, Saint-Marc, and Gonaïves. On October 10, 1863, he reintroduced the colonial law that required roads to be built and maintained. He also revived the policy of former rulers Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer of recruiting African Americans to settle in Haiti. In May 1861, a group of African Americans led by James Theodore Holly settled east of Croix-des-Bouquets. However, by 1862, Geffrard began to examine the constitution and eliminated the legislature to his own benefit. He first gave himself a raise, 2 plantations, and paid for his personal luxuries with hospital funds and army funds. In 1863, he reformed the monetary system to that of the present-day.
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