Marie-Denise Fabien Jean-Louis

Marie-Denise Fabien Jean-Louis
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 19 February 1991 – 19 September 1991
Prime Minister	René Préval
Preceded by	Paul C. Latortue
Succeeded by	Jean-Robert Sabalat
Personal details
Born	(1944-02-14) 14 February 1944 (age 80) Gonaïves, Haiti
Alma mater	Louis Pasteur University (M.D.)

Marie-Denise Fabien Jean-Louis (born 14 February 1944) is a Haitian physician and government official who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for several months in 1991, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Due to her ties to the Duvalier regime and her complete lack of diplomatic experience, her appointment was strongly opposed by many in the ruling party.

Biography

Marie-Denise Fabien Jean-Louis was born on 14 February 1944 in the city of Gonaïves in northern Haiti.^[1] She attended the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France, from 1962 until 1973, receiving a Doctor of Medicine degree in anesthesiology.^[2][3]

On 19 February 1991, following the 1990–91 Haitian general election, Jean-Louis was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by Prime Minister René Préval, becoming the first woman to hold the position.^[4][5] Due to her complete lack of diplomatic experience and her ties to the Duvalier regime, her appointment was strongly opposed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas movement.^[6]

As Haiti's international representative, she participated in the 1991 meeting of the Organization of American States and gave a speech to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.^[7][8] During her tenure, Jean-Louis engaged in a diplomatic dispute with the Dominican Republic following the deportation of over 100 Haitians from the country.^[9][10] She also met with officials from The Bahamas, namely her counterpart Clement T. Maynard, regarding the influx of Haitian migrants into that country.^[11]

On 19 September 1991, President Aristide dismissed both Jean-Louis and Health Minister Daniel Henrys from their positions due to pressure from the Lavalas.^[12][13] She was replaced as minister by Jean-Robert Sabalat, the former head of the Provisional Electoral Council.^[14][15] Ten days later, elements in the Haitian military launched a successful coup, overthrowing Aristide's government.^[16] Following the coup, Jean-Louis went into hiding and her home was searched by soldiers.^[17]

In 1992, Jean-Louis was a member of the Executive Committee of the Pan American Health Organization.^[18]

References

Citations

1. Truhart 1996, p. 72.
2. "Aristide nombra allegados a su flamante gabinete" [Aristide Names Close Friends to His New Cabinet]. El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). February 21, 1991. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
3. Lacarrière 1990, p. 10.
4. Arthus 2017, pp. 222, 228.
5. Sella 2011, pp. 129–130.
6. Dumas 1997, p. 50.
7. Parker & Weissbrodt 1991, p. 576.
8. Soares 1994, p. 71.
9. "Dominicans Deport Haitians". The Miami Herald. 1991-06-23. p. 815. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
10. Sella 2011, pp. 194–195.
11. FBIS 1991, p. 5.
12. Goodyear Gibbs 1990.
13. Kogan Page 1994, p. 218.
14. Dumas 1997, p. 95.
15. Sella 2011, p. 141.
16. Amnesty International 1992, p. 1.
17. Amnesty International 1992, p. 11.
18. PAHO 1992, p. 1.

Works cited

• Arthus, Wien Weibert (2017). Les grandes dates de l'histoire diplomatique d'Haïti: De la période fondatrice à nos jours [Important Dates in the Diplomatic History of Haiti: From the Founding Period to the Present Day] (in French). Paris: Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-14-002982-0.
• Caribbean Insight. Vol. 13–15. Goodyear Gibbs (Caribbean). 1990.
• Daily Report: Latin America. Vol. 179–189. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1991.
• Dumas, Pierre-Raymond (1997). La transition d'Haïti vers la démocratie: essais sur la dérive despotico-libérale [Haiti's Transition to Democracy: Essays on the Despotic-Liberal Drift] (in French). Port-au-Prince: Imprimeur II. ISBN 978-99935-614-1-5. OCLC 38080575.
• Final Report of the 109th Meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization. 1992.
• La Chronique judiciaire d'Haiti [The Judicial Chronicle of Haiti] (in French). L. Lacarrière. 1990.
• Parker, Penny; Weissbrodt, David (1991). "Major Developments at the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1991". Human Rights Quarterly. 13 (4): 573–613. doi:10.2307/762307. ISSN 0275-0392. JSTOR 762307.
• Sella, Orlando Enrique (2011). La caída de Aristide: Crónica de una frustración popular [The Fall of Aristide: Chronicle of a Popular Frustration] (in Spanish). Villa María: National University of Villa María. ISBN 978-987-1727-47-6.
• Shattered Hopes: Human Rights Violations and the Coup (PDF). Amnesty International. 1992.
• Soares, João Clemente Baena (1994). Síntesis de una gestión, 1984-1994 [Profile of a Mandate, 1984-1994] (in Spanish). Washington, D.C.: Organization of American States. ISBN 978-0-8270-3387-0. OCLC 609214165.
• The Americas Review (13th ed.). London: Kogan Page. 1994. ISBN 978-0-7494-1068-1. OCLC 30823602.
• Truhart, Peter (1996). International Directory of Foreign Ministers, 1589-1989. Vol. 2. K. G. Saur Verlag. ISBN 978-3-598-11276-8.

Further reading

• "M. Sabalat nouveau ministre des affaires étrangères" [Mr. Sabalat New Minister of Foreign Affairs]. Le Monde (in French). 1991-09-21. Retrieved 2023-09-04.

External links

• Interview with Radio Haiti in 1987