Jovenel Moïse was born on 26 June 1968, inTrou du Nord,Nord-Est, Haiti. His family relocated toPort-au-Prince in July 1974, where he pursued his primary education at the École Nationale Don Durélin. He continued his secondary education at Lycée Toussaint Louverture and later at the Centre Culturel duCollège Canado-Haïtien.[10]
In 1996, he married Martine Marie Étienne Joseph (Martine Moïse), his classmate at the time. The couple decided to leave the capital that same year and settled inPort-de-Paix to focus on developing rural areas.[11]
Together, Jovenel and Martine Moïse had three children: Jomarlie Moïse, Jovenel Moïse Jr., and Joverlein Moïse.
Moïse began his business career with the founding of Jomar Auto Parts. The following year, he began working on an agricultural project involving organicbanana production from a plantation covering more than 10 hectares (25 acres) in theNord-Ouest department. Moïse collaborated withCulligan Water in 2001 to build a drinking water plant for the Nord-Ouest andNord-Est departments.
In 2012, he founded Agritrans SA, introduced the agricultural project Nourribio toTrou du Nord, and helped create Haiti's first agriculturalfree-trade zone, a 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre)banana plantation inNord-Est.[12] The intent of this project was to export bananas toGermany for the first time since 1954; however, only two containers were ever sent. This nonetheless led him to be nicknamedNèg Bannann (Banana Man).[13]
The government granted tax-free access to the land, 15 years' exemption from income tax and customs duties on the purchase of capital equipment,[2] and a $6 million loan to a new company, Agritrans, owned by Moïse, the president of the local chamber of commerce. Anonymous investors contributed at least another $10 million. Agritrans promised to create about 3,000 jobs;[14] however, as of March 2015, it had employed only 600.[15]
Moïse with Canadian prime ministerJustin Trudeau in 2018Moïse and other Caribbean leaders with U.S. presidentDonald Trump inFlorida in 2019US Ambassador to the UNKelly Craft, and President Moïse in 2019U.S. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo and President Moïse in 2020
In 2015, PresidentMichel Martelly designated Moïse as the presidential candidate of the political party he had founded, the center-rightHaitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK).[16] In his campaign, Moïse promotedbio-ecological agriculture as an economic engine for Haiti, whose population was over 50% rural.[17]
Moïse received 32.8% of votes in the first round of theelections held on 15 October 2015, with 54 candidates competing, qualifying for arunoff with the second-place finisher,Jude Célestin.[18][19] However, anexit poll conducted by theHaiti Sentinel reflected that Moïse had only received about 6% of the vote, and Célestin called the results fraudulent.[20][21] As a result, thousands of people took to the streets in violent protests, forcing the postponement of the runoff election.[22] In their wake, the ballot was ultimatelyannulled in June 2016.[18][23] In February 2016, after incumbent President Michel Martelly stepped down at the end of his term,special elections were held by parliament, andJocelerme Privert was installed as interim President until new elections could be held.[24]
On 20 November 2016, anew 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[23] and an estimated voter turnout of 21%, beating out 26 other candidates — four of whom claimed victory, before the official results were announced.[25][26] Moïse secured the presidency without having to compete in a second-round election. In second, third, and fourth place was mechanical engineerJude Celestin ofLAPEH with 19.52%, leftist senatorJean-Charles Moïse of thePlatfòm Pitit Dessalines (PPD) with 11.04%, andMaryse Narcisse ofFanmi Lavalas (FL) with 8.99%.[27] Jovenel Moïse was sworn in on 7 February 2017 for a five-year term.[28]
Moïse faced opposition from political leaders who argued that his five-year term should end on 7 February 2021. They based this on the belief that his term should begin from the date of the inconclusive 2015 elections, meaning his mandate would expire five years later, on the same date his predecessor stepped down. However, Moïse, counting from the date of his inauguration, asserted that his term would not end until 2022.[29]
In November 2019, Moïse met at theHaiti 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.[30][31] Craft later met with several political leaders from other parties, listened to their different views, and urged an inclusive solution with Moïse.[31][32] She also urged the Haitian government to fight corruption, investigate and prosecutehuman rights abusers, and combat narcotics and human trafficking.[31][peacock prose]
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President Moïse built the second-largesthydropower plant and agricultural water reservoir in Haiti afterPéligre Dam.[33] 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.[34] He built several water pumping stations using solar power for the same purpose.[35][36] President Moise was in the process of building a deviation of water from theDajabón River when he was assassinated.[37]
President Moïse worked to expand the reach of theArtibonite department. He leveraged theMinistry of Public Works to curate the water channel system, making it easier for the farmers to grow rice.[38]
President Moïse built numerous roads in towns like Jeremie,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 built power plants to provide electricity to many small towns like Jérémie and Port-de-Paix.[39]
President Moïse built several asphalt plants in several provinces in Haiti, including in Gros Mornes,[40] Les Cayes,[41] and Trou-du-Nord.[42]
President Moïse concurred several allegations of corruption, including allegedly taking bribes for road-building projects and short-selling a contract to sell goats to the Haitian government.[43] These allegations, coupled with a declining quality of life for Haitian citizens throughout his administration, led to mass demonstrations that sought for his resignation.
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,[46] with an interim president appointed indirectly by the legislature in theFebruary 2016 Haitian presidential election and fresh elections scheduled for 2016.[47]
On 7 July 2021, Moïse was shot dead when gunmen attacked his residence in Pèlerin 5, a district ofPétion-Ville around 1 a.m.[49][50][51][52] Martine Moïse, thefirst lady of Haiti, wasairlifted toJackson Memorial Hospital inMiami to be treated for wounds she sustained during the attack.[53][54][55][56] None of the couple's children appeared to be home during the attack. A press release issued later that day from the office of acting Prime MinisterClaude 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 urging Haitians to not let Moïse's contributions go to waste.
In December 2021,The New York Times reported that Moïse's assassination might be linked to Moïse's efforts to curb narcotics trafficking and plans to publicly expose high-ranking Haitian officials involved in the Haitian drug trade.[57]
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.[58][59] One of the alleged masterminds, Rodolphe Jaar, also stated that Henry was close to Badio and had protected him after the assassination.[60] 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.[59] Henry resigned in 2024 following mass protests demanding he abandon hisde facto governance as head of state functions.
On February 20, 2024,Associated Press announced that the Haitian court had indicted his wife, Martine Moïse, ex-prime minister Claude Joseph, and the former chief of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles, along with other unnamed suspects with his murder.[61]
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Moise faced criticism throughout his career, and following his death, as a result of his intense intolerance of dissent and political opposition, and for 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.[62]
President 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.[63][64][65]
^Frances Robles (7 July 2021)."He Went from Banana Exporter to President: 'I Am Not a Dictator".The New York Times.Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved8 December 2021."To some, he was a corrupt leader, but to others, he was a reformer," said Leonie Hermantin, a Haitian community activist in Miami. "He was a man who was trying to change the power dynamics, particularly when it came to money and who had control over electricity contracts. The oligarchy was paid billions of dollars to provide electricity to a country that was still in the dark."
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