Hérard Abraham
Encyclopedia

Life

Abraham enlisted in the Haïtian army as a young man. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 and became one of the few military members in the inner circle of President Jean-Claude Duvalier
Jean-Claude Duvalier
Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Bébé Doc" or "Baby Doc" was the President of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, as the ruler of Haiti upon his father's death in 1971...

. Abraham supported the 1986 coup against Duvalier, and served as foreign minister for the first time under Henri Namphy
Henri Namphy
Henri Namphy was a Haitian general and political figure. He served as President of Haiti's interim ruling body, the National Council of Government, from 7 February 1986 to 7 February 1988...

 from 1987 to 1988. He became acting President of Haïti on March 10, 1990 after street protests forced President Prosper Avril
Prosper Avril
Prosper Avril is a Haitian political figure who was President of Haiti from 1988 to 1990. A trusted member of François Duvalier's Presidential Guard and adviser to Jean-Claude Duvalier, Lt. Gen. Avril led the September 1988 Haitian coup d'état against a transition military government installed...

 into exile. He gave up power three days later, becoming the only military leader in Haïti during the twentieth century to give up power voluntarily. In January 1991, Abraham helped to crush a coup attempt by Roger Lafontant
Roger Lafontant
Roger Lafontant is the former leader of the Tonton Macoutes and the former Minister of dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. He was the leader of an attempted coup d'état on January 1991, in Haiti, an effort which ultimately lead to his death....

.

In 1991, Abraham retired from the army and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He settled in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 and drifted into obscurity. He lived near another former Haïtian politician, Gérard Latortue
Gérard Latortue
Gérard Latortue was the Prime Minister of Haïti from March 12, 2004 to June 9, 2006. He was an official in the United Nations for many years, and briefly served as foreign minister of Haïti during the short-lived 1988 administration of Leslie Manigat.In February 2004, the country suffered a coup...

, who would later become prime minister. In February 2004, Abraham made a radio address from Florida calling on President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...

 to resign.

After Aristide's forced exile from the country, a new government needed to be formed. Latortue was eventually chosen for prime minister position, and invited Abraham to return to Haïti and become interior minister
Interior minister
An interior ministry is a government ministry typically responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters. The ministry is often headed by a minister of the interior or minister of home affairs...

. Abraham served in that position from March 2004 until a January 31, 2005 cabinet reshuffle, in which he became foreign minister. He held that position until 9 June 2006.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK