Jovenel Moïse

Jovenel Moïse (French pronunciation: [ʒɔv(ə)nɛl mɔiz]; Haitian Creole pronunciation: [ʒovɛnɛl mɔiz]; ( 26 June 1968 – 7 July 2021) was a Haitian politician and businessman who served as the 48th president of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination in 2021. He assumed the presidency in February 2017 following his victory in the November 2016 Haitian presidential election.^[3][4]

Soon after Moïse's term as president started, it would be overshadowed by Haiti's descent into a severe state of crisis characterized by civil unrest, gang-related violence, severe fuel shortages and general lawlessness.^[5][6] At approximately 1:00am in the morning on July 7, 2021, Moïse was shot several times and killed in a premeditated targeted attack at his private home in Pétion-Ville, Port-au-Prince.^[7][8][9]

Jovenel Moïse was born on June 26, 1968 in Trou du Nord, Nord-Est, Haiti. Moïse's father was a farmer and a mechanic, while his mother was a seamstress. Moïse, alongside his family, relocated to Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, in July 1974. Moïse attended primary school at the École Nationale Don Durélin in Port-au-Prince and secondary school at Lycée Toussaint Louverture and the Centre Culturel du Collège Canado-Haïtien.^[10] Moïse later attended Quisqueya University, where he studied educational sciences.^[11]

In 1996, Moïse married Martine Marie Étienne Joseph, his classmate at the time. The couple decided to leave the capital that same year and settled in Port-de-Paix, Nord-Est. Returning to the rural Nord-Est of his birth, Moïse would become a staunch proponent of rural development, envisioning a future in which Haiti could solve its problems of endemic poverty by transitioning into an agrarian society.^[12] Together, Jovenel and Martine Moïse had three children, Jomarlie Moïse, Jovenel Moïse Jr. and Joverlein Moïse.

Moïse's business career began with the founding of JoMar Auto Parts. The following year, he began work on his first agricultural project, an organic banana plantation covering more than 10 hectares (25 acres) of land in Nord-Ouest, Haiti. In 2001, Moïse began dealings with Culligan Water, an American water treatment company, to build potable water filtration plants in the Nord-Ouest and Nord-Est departments. In 2004, Moïse would become a member of the Northwest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCINO), and soon after was elected CCINO president.

In 2012, Moïse founded Agrarians SA to oversee Haiti's first agricultural free-trade zone, a 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) banana plantation in Nord-Est, known as the "Nourribo Project".^[13] Nourribo was intended to produce and export bananas to Germany, which would have led to Haiti's first export to the country since 1954. However, only two containers were ever sent.^[14]

The Haitian government had granted Agrarians tax-free access to the land, exemption from income tax and customs duties on the purchase of capital equipment for 15 years,^[2] and a $6 million loan to the new company, Agrarians, owned by Moïse, the president of the local chamber of commerce. Anonymous investors contributed at least another $10 million. Agrarians promised to create about 3,000 jobs;^[15] however, as of March 2015, it had employed only 600.^[16]

In 2015, Haitian President Michel Martelly designated Moïse as the presidential candidate of the political party he had founded, the center-right Haitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK).^[17] In his campaign, Moïse promoted biodynamic agriculture as an economic engine for Haiti, whose population was over 50% rural.^[18]

In the first round of the 2015 Haitian presidential elections, held on October 15, 2015, Moïse received 32.8% of the votes with 54 candidates competing, resulting in a runoff election in which Moïse would be running against the runner-up of the first round, Jude Célestin.^[19][20] However, an exit poll conducted by the Haiti Sentinel reflected that Moïse had only received about 6% of the vote, and Célestin called the results fraudulent.^[21][22] As a result, thousands of people took to the streets in violent protests, forcing the postponement of the runoff election.^[23] In their wake, the ballot was ultimately annulled in June 2016.^[19][24] In February 2016, following the incumbent President Michel Martelly's resignation at the end of his term, special elections were held by parliament, and Jocelerme Privert was installed as interim president until new elections could be held.^[25]

On 20 November 2016, a new election was held; a week later, election officials declared, based on preliminary results, that Moïse had won the election with 55.67% of the vote^[24] and an estimated voter turnout of 21%, beating out 26 other candidates — four of whom claimed victory, before the official results were announced.^[26][27] Moïse secured the presidency without having to compete in a second-round election. In second, third and fourth place were mechanical engineer Jude Celestin of LAPEH with 19.52%, leftist senator Jean-Charles Moïse of the Platfòm Pitit Dessalines (PPD) with 11.04% and Maryse Narcisse of Fanmi Lavalas (FL) with 8.99%.^[28] Jovenel Moïse was sworn in on 7 February 2017 for a five-year term.^[29]

Jovenel Moïse faced opposition from political leaders who argued that his five-year presidential term should have ended on 7 February 2021. Their position was based on the view that his mandate began with the inconclusive 2015 elections, implying that the term would expire five years after the departure of his predecessor on the same date. Moïse, however, maintained that his term began with his official inauguration in February 2017 and would therefore conclude in 2022.^[30]

In November 2019, Moïse met at the National Palace with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, to discuss the methods necessary to implement a consensual resolution of Haiti's political crisis through inclusive dialogue.^[31][32] Craft later met with several political leaders from other parties and urged an inclusive solution with Moïse.^[32][33]

President Moïse built the second-largest hydropower plant and agricultural water reservoir in Haiti, following the construction of the Péligre Dam.^[34] He built the "Barrage Marion" in Marion, Haiti, which provides electricity and water to farmers in Northern Haiti, and rebuilt another water reservoir, the "Barrage la Tannerie," to make more water available for farmers to increase agricultural production in that area.^[35] He built several water pumping stations using solar power for the same purpose.^[36][37] President Moise was in the process of building a diversion of water from the Dajabón River when he was assassinated.^[38]

President Moïse worked to expand the reach of the Artibonite department. He leveraged the Ministry of Public Works to curate the water channel system, making it easier for the farmers to grow rice.^[39]

During his presidency, Moïse prioritized agricultural and water infrastructure development in rural Haiti. In May 2021, he inaugurated the Marion hydroelectric dam in the Nord-Est department, which became the second-largest dam in the country. The project was intended to supply electricity and irrigate approximately 10,000 hectares of farmland. Moïse also supported the restoration of the Tannerie reservoir and promoted the use of solar-powered pumping stations in the Artibonite region to boost rice cultivation. Prior to his assassination, he had initiated efforts to divert water from the Dajabón River for agricultural use, although the project remained incomplete at the time of his death. ^[40]

^[41]

President Moïse built roads in towns like Jeremie and Port-de-Paix, which include the Carrefour Joffre/Anse-à-Foleur and the Carrefour Trois-Rivières. He rebuilt and upgraded the airport in Jérémie and constructed power plants to provide electricity to numerous small towns, including Jérémie and Port-de-Paix.^[42]

President Moïse built several asphalt plants in several provinces in Haiti, including in Gros Mornes,^[43] Les Cayes,^[44] and Trou-du-Nord.^[45]

President Moïse concurred with several allegations of corruption, including allegedly taking bribes for road-building projects and short-selling a contract to sell goats to the Haitian government.^[46] These allegations, coupled with a declining quality of life for Haitian citizens throughout his administration, led to mass demonstrations that sought his resignation.

Presidential elections were held in Haiti on 25 October 2015, alongside local elections and the second round of legislative elections.^[47]

As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a second round was mandated by law. However, this was repeatedly postponed, and eventually canceled,^[49] with an interim president appointed indirectly by the legislature in the February 2016 Haitian presidential election and fresh elections scheduled for 2016.^[50]

With more than 50% of votes cast, Moïse was elected in the first round.^[49]

Around 1 a.m. on 7 July 2021, Moïse was shot dead when gunmen attacked his residence in Pèlerin 5, a district of Pétion-Ville.^{[52][53][54][55]} His wife Martine, the first lady of Haiti, was not killed, but had to be airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami to be treated for wounds she sustained during the attack.^{[56][57][58][59]} Out of their 3 kids, none were home during the attack. A press release issued later that day from the office of acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph blamed the attack on "a group of unidentified individuals, some of whom spoke in Spanish." On 10 July, Martine Moïse posted a statement on her Twitter account, urging Haitians not to let Moïse's contributions go to waste.

In December 2021, The New York Times reported that Moïse's assassination might have been linked to Moïse's efforts to curb narcotics trafficking and plans to publicly expose high-ranking Haitian officials involved in the Haitian drug trade.^[60]

Ariel Henry, who had been selected as the Prime Minister by Moïse shortly before his assassination, was later accused by several officials of being connected to Joseph Felix Badio, an alleged mastermind of the assassination, and being involved in the planning.^[61][62] One of the alleged masterminds, Rodolphe Jaar, also stated that Henry was close to Badio and had protected him after the assassination.^[63] Judge Garry Orélien, who was previously the top judicial official in Haiti overseeing the case, stated that Henry was friends with Badio and planned the assassination with him.^[62] Henry resigned in 2024 following mass protests demanding that he abandon his de facto governance as head of state.

On February 20, 2024, the Associated Press announced that the Haitian court had indicted his ex-wife Martine, ex-prime minister Claude Joseph, and the former chief of Haiti's National Police, Léon Charles, along with other unnamed suspects, with his murder.^[64]

Moise faced criticism throughout his career, and following his death, due to his intense intolerance of dissent and political opposition, and his attempts at consolidating the government and remaining in power. On the other hand, he received praise for his robust efforts to rein in corruption and his willingness to stand up against oligarchs and the Haitian elite.^[65]

Président Moïse and former President Michel Martelly, both from the same political party, faced significant opposition and criticism during their presidencies due to corruption and alleged ties to prominent Haitian gangs.^[66][67][68]

Moïse was awarded the Order of Brilliant Jade with Grand Cordon by the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, in May 2018.^[69][70] Tsai commended the economic initiatives undertaken by Moïse's government.^[71]

• List of assassinated and executed heads of state and government
• Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, another Haitian president who was assassinated in 1915