Leslie Voltaire (born 11 July 1949) is a Haitian politician and architect serving as the president of the Transitional Presidential Council since October 2024. He previously served in the administrations of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and René Préval and was a candidate for president in the 2010 election.
Leslie Voltaire | |
|---|---|
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| President of the Transitional Presidential Council | |
| Assumed office 7 October 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Garry Conille (acting) |
| Preceded by | Edgard Leblanc Fils |
| Member of the Transitional Presidential Council | |
| Assumed office 25 April 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 July 1949 Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Political party | Fanmi Lavalas |
| Occupation | Politician · architect |
Biography
editVoltaire was born on 11 July 1949 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[1] He is a fluent speaker of English, French, Spanish and Haitian Creole.[2] He attended Petit Séminaire Collège Saint-Martial in Port-au-Prince and later studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he received a degree in architecture, and Cornell University in the United States, where he earned a master's degree in urban and regional planning.[1] At Cornell, he was a Fulbright scholar.[3]
Voltaire became an expert architect and urban planner, gaining over 40 years of experience.[3] He helped develop several large-scale projects, including a master plan for a low cost housing complex that was built in Port-au-Prince, and being a consultant in the construction of a football academy.[1] For 15 years, he served as the professor of architecture at the State University of Haiti.[1]
Voltaire was a friend of Haitian president Jean-Claude Duvalier.[4] Voltaire, who became a member of the political party Fanmi Lavalas, entered politics in 1990 when he was appointed a state councilor, and one year later was named by president Jean-Bertrand Aristide as the Minister of National Education and Minister of Sports.[3] He became the chief of staff to Aristide in 1995, then remained in the government in the administration of René Préval, being appointed infrastructure advisor in 1996.[3] In 2001, he became the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad.[3] He authored the Voltaire law, which improved economic rights for Haitian diaspora.[1] Voltaire was a Special Envoy to the United Nations (UN) in 2009, working with former U.S. president Bill Clinton.[3]
In 2010, Voltaire was a leading figure in helping rebuild Haiti following a major earthquake.[5][6] He ran for president in the 2010–11 Haitian general election under the party Ansanm Nou Fò, receiving 16,199 votes, 1.59% of the electorate, although there were allegations of voter fraud.[7][8] Afterwards, he remained an advisor to the Lavalas party and later became a member of the executive board of the Montana Accord.[9]
In 2024, Voltaire was appointed to the Transitional Presidential Council, the body temporarily acting as the head of state of Haiti, as one of seven members, taking office on 25 April 2024.[8] As part of a rotating leadership of the body, Voltaire succeeded Edgard Leblanc Fils on 7 October 2024, with a term that set to expire on 7 March 2025.[10][11] He took over the presidency at a time when several members of the council were the subjects of corruption allegations, and the outgoing leader, Leblanc Fils, refused to sign the decree that ratified Voltaire as the president.[12]
Voltaire is married and has three children.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Haïti - Élections : Qui est Leslie Voltaire?" [Haiti - Elections: Who is Leslie Voltaire?]. HaitiLibre.com (in French). 15 September 2010.
- ^ Charles, Jacqueline (14 March 2024). "Who will lead Haiti? Naming of transition panel embroiled in uncertainty, disputes". Miami Herald.
- ^ a b c d e f "Qui est Leslie Voltaire?" [Who Is Leslie Voltaire]. Gazette Haiti (in French). 6 October 2024.
- ^ Duval, Frantz (6 September 2010). "Les bons choix de Leslie Voltaire" [Leslie Voltaire's Good Choices]. Le Nouvelliste (in French).
- ^ Cuavin, Henri E. (22 February 2010). "From rubble, visions of the possibilities". The Washington Post – via archive.ph.
- ^ "Factbox: Several frontrunners in Haiti presidential race". Reuters. 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Haiti-Élections : Lectures des résultats du scrutin du 28 novembre 2010" [Haiti-Elections: Readings of the results of the November 28, 2010 vote]. AlterPresse (in French). 17 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Meet the members of a transitional council tasked with choosing new leaders for beleaguered Haiti". Associated Press. 25 April 2024.
- ^ "Leslie Voltaire". Haitian-American Foundation for Democracy.
- ^ Sanon, Evens (7 October 2024). "New leader takes over Haiti's transitional presidential council marred by corruption allegations". Associated Press.
- ^ Charles, Oberde (8 October 2024). "Leslie Voltaire investi comme président du CPTLeslie Voltaire invested as president of the CPT". Le National (in French).
- ^ "Haiti's divided transition council picks new president". Voice of America. Reuters. 7 October 2024.