Haitian Politics
Photos of Haitians in politics, government officials, in Haiti and on foreign soil. Read all about Haitian Politics at BelPolitik.com
Haiti National Palace - Palais National
Here is a picture of the Haiti National Palace, the Palais National is the White House in Haiti
The White House, Port Au Prince, Haiti
Here is a photo of Haitian White House, Haiti's National Palace Palais National, in Port Au Prince, Haiti
Michele Bennett, Pope John Paul II, Jean Claude Duvalier
A picture taken when Pope John Paul II went to haiti on March 9, 1983.
Source: latinamericanstudies.org
Jean Monestime
Jean Monestime ran for Mayor in 2005 in the city of Nort Miami
read this article about Monestime
The Miami Herald
Dec. 28, 2003
Achieving, though 'life was tough'
Jean Monestime, 40, pursued a good education and rose from mopping floors to owning a business and serving as a North Miami councilman.
Business owner Jean Monestime has had his share of low points since arriving here in 1981 from Haiti via Bimini. But the one that stands out even now is the day his first home was repossessed, his car was towed and he did not have enough money to buy diapers for his 6-month-old child.
''I had an insurance job that was based on commission. I was in school and I could not give up one for the other because I had a family to support,'' said Monestime, a
married father of two. ``I didn't want to quit school because life was tough.''
It's that kind of drive that has transformed Monestime from a 17-year-old Haitian refugee who mopped floors at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for $3.55 an hour to a North
Miami councilman and owner of his own real estate firm. He is president and chief executive officer of MJM Capital Realty & Investment Group in North Miami.
''The ultimate goal was to see a different picture of my life,'' said Monestime, who worked at various odd jobs and drove a taxicab full time for seven years while attending what is now called Miami Dade College. ``The way it was, was not acceptable to me.''
Believing that education was the key to a better life, Monestime said he was determined to finish at MiamiDade, where he changed career goals countless times before
eventually enrolling at Florida International University.
In 1995, he earned an undergraduate degree in business and finance from FIU. Five years later, he received a master's degree in business administration from Nova
Southeastern University.
He was elected to the North Miami council in October 2002 to fill a vacant seat and was reelected last April without opposition. Monestime is one of several elected
Haitian-American officials.
Last year, Monestime's firm did $16 million in sales and made $600,000 in profit -- not bad for a fellow who went into the real estate business in 1995 with just $58 in the bank.
The sixth of 10 children, Monestime says he left Haiti ''frankly out of desperation, a lack of what the future might have brought me.'' His plan was to come to Miami, work and go to school, and return to help his family.
Twenty-two years later, Haiti has been put on hold. But the drive to help fellow Haitians remains.
''The Haitian experience is a very positive experience,'' said Monestime, 40.
``It's a very educational experience. It's maintained the history of pride and courage the Haitian people are known for.''
North Miami Mayor Josephat 'Joe' Celestin, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton
Josaphat "Joe" Celestin, 44, was sworn in as mayor of North Miami, Miami-Dade's fourth-largest city.
With a population of nearly 60,000, the city is now believed to be the nation's largest city with a Haitian-American as mayor.
Celestin and Despinosse join the city's first Haitian-American council member, Ossmann Desir, to form a Haitian-American majority on the five-person council.
"After today, those in the elected offices, those sitting in elected office can no longer afford to take our vote for granted," Celestin said, his voice heard by another 500 people who listened attentively through loudspeakers set outside the city's armory.
Celestin, a builder who immigrated to the United States in 1979, won 53 percent of the vote to defeat Arthur "Duke" Sorey, an African-American former council member.
Read more @
caribvoice.org
"Forty years after Haitian immigrants started arriving to the United States in large numbers, and 20 years after the first waves of Haitian refugees started coming to Florida shores, a new generation of Haitian-American political leaders is emerging. Some came as children with their parents, while others were born here. Many were educated in American colleges. They are politically astute and media savvy. They have high-powered jobs and outsized ambitions."
Source & Photo:
aliciapatterson.org
North Miami Mayor Josephat 'Joe' Celestin
Josaphat Joe Celestin, 44, was sworn in as mayor of North Miami, Miami-Dade's fourth-largest city.
With a population of nearly 60,000, the city is now believed to be the nation's largest city with a Haitian-American as mayor.
Celestin and Despinosse join the city's first Haitian-American council member, Ossmann Desir, to form a Haitian-American majority on the five-person council.
After today, those in the elected offices, those sitting in elected office can no longer afford to take our vote for granted, Celestin said, his voice heard by another 500 people who listened attentively through loudspeakers set outside the city's armory.
Celestin, a builder who immigrated to the United States in 1979, won 53 percent of the vote to defeat Arthur Duke Sorey, an African-American former council member.
Read more
caribvoice.org
Forty years after Haitian immigrants started arriving to the United States in large numbers, and 20 years after the first waves of Haitian refugees started coming to Florida shores, a new generation of Haitian-American political leaders is emerging. Some came as children with their parents, while others were born here. Many were educated in American colleges. They are politically astute and media savvy. They have high-powered jobs and outsized ambitions.
Source Photo:
aliciapatterson.org
Louis Jodel Chamblain
Louis-Jodel Chamblain is a military leader in Haiti who has led both government troops and rebels, and is considered a notorious war criminal by some.
Who is Louis-Jodel Chamblain?
haitiwhois.com
Louis Jodel Chamblain
Louis-Jodel Chamblain is a military leader in Haiti who has led both government troops and rebels, and is considered a notorious war criminal by some.
Who is Louis-Jodel Chamblain?
haitiwhois.com
Michaelle Jean on her inaugural speech
Quote from her speech "I have come a long way," she said ahead of her swearing-in Tuesday. "My ancestors were slaves, they fought for freedom. I was born in Haiti, the poorest country in our hemisphere. I am a daughter of exiles driven from their home by a dictatorial regime."
photo: wtopnews.com