Antonio Thrasybule Kébreau (French pronunciation:[ɑ̃tɔnjotʁazibylkebʁo]; November 11, 1909 – January 11, 1963) was Chairman of the Military Council (French: Président du Conseil militaire) that made him provisional head of state of the Republic of Haiti from 14 June – 22 October 1957.[1][2] His short reign followed that of Daniel Fignolé and preceded that of François Duvalier. During his rule, soldiers under Kébreau's rule massacred several hundreds, if not several thousand rioting Fignolé supporters.[1]
Prior to his short tenure as head of state, Kébreau played a part in ousting interim president Daniel Fignolé and sending him into exile.[3] According to Bernard Diederich in his book Papa Doc, Kébreau believed himself to be the real power behind Duvalier, as a military leader. In order to assert who really had the power, Duvalier had him sent to a diplomatic post and relieved him of his domestic duties. Kébreau took this as a threat and fled to the Dominican Republic seeking asylum, before eventually going abroad and taking up his diplomatic post.[4]
Kébreau was appointed as the Haitian ambassador to Italy. He died suddenly on January 13, 1963. Allegedly, he was poisoned on Duvalier's orders.[3]
