Haitian politician (born 1982)
Stéphanie Balmir Villedrouin (French pronunciation: [stefani balmiʁ vildʁwɛ̃]; born 29 March 1982) is a Haitian entrepreneur who formerly served as the minister of tourism of Haiti.
Early years
Villedrouin comes from a prominent Haitian family; the seventh child of Alix Balmir, a diplomat, and his wife, Gladys Dubousquet, a native of the city of Gonaïves, Haiti; both of her parents are mixed-race.[1][2] She was born abroad in Caracas while her father was serving in diplomatic relations as the Ambassador of Haiti in Venezuela.[3] Two months later her father was designated to the Haitian Embassy in Colombia, wherein Villedrouin spent her early childhood.[1] After the fall of the Jean-Claude Duvalier’s regime, in 1986, the whole family returned to Haiti and established restaurants and hotels.[1][4][5]
Villedrouin was four years old when her family returned to Haiti, where she completed her schooling in Port-au-Prince.[1] Then, she studied hospitality and tourism management at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, in Santiago, Dominican Republic;[1] she managed a hotel in Kenscoff, a mountainous hamlet located 10 kilometres to the southeast of Port-au-Prince.[4][5] She is fluent in French and Haitian Creole, as well as in Spanish and English.[4]
Minister of Tourism
Her first term as the Minister of Tourism of Haiti was from 20 October 2011 to 2 April 2014.[6] Rebranded as the Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries, Madame Villedrouin was re-confirmed to a second term on 2 April 2014 and served until 23 March 2016.[7]
During her tenure, Haiti inaugurated its first Tourism Promotion Office.[8]
Personal life
In 2003, she married Marcel Bernard Villedrouin and they have three children together.[1]
References
