Editing Government of Haiti (section)

==History==

=== 19th century ===
[[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]] was the first leader of free and independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. He was initially regarded as governor-general, then later called himself Emperor Jacques I of Haiti. His regime lasted two and half years (1804-1806) and ended with his assassination by disaffected leaders of his administration.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kreyol.com/history005.html|title=Haiti - History|website=kreyol.com|access-date=2017-05-17}}</ref> In 1806, [[Constituent Assembly]] created a new constitution and appointed [[Henri Christophe]] to a four-year term as President of the Republic of Haiti. The following year, the Battle of Sibert ended with the division of Haiti into the southern [[Republic of Haiti]] under Alexandre Pétion and the northern [[State of Haiti]] under Christophe.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The armorial of Haiti symbols of nobility in the reign of Henry Christophe : College of Arms manuscript JP 177|last1=Clive|first1=Cheesman|last2=Marie-Lucie|first2=Vendryes|last3=Michaëlle|first3=Jean|date=2007|publisher=College of Arms|isbn=9780950698021|oclc=496738068}}</ref> In 1818, Pétion died of a fever and [[Jean-Pierre Boyer]], Chief of the Presidential Guard, was appointed President-for-Life of the Republic of Haiti. After Christophe committed suicide in 1820, Boyer promulgates the Republican Constitution in Christophe's northern state. This resulted in the unification of northern and southern Haiti. In 1822, Boyer arrives in [[Santo Domingo]] and declares control over the entire island of [[Hispaniola]]. Under Boyer, King [[Charles X of France]] signs an ordinance which conditionally recognizes Haiti's independence and imposes a [[Haiti indemnity controversy|150 million franc indemnity]] on the Haitian government. This debt plagued Haiti's economy for generations. in 1843, President Boyer was overthrown and fled to Paris in exile.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Columbia encyclopedia|last=Paul|first=Lagasse|date=2000-01-01|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780787650155|oclc=807606124|url=https://archive.org/details/columbiaencyclop00laga}}</ref> The [[1843 Constitution of Haiti|1843 Constitution]] was established and [[Charles Riviere-Hérard]] was appointed President of Haiti. Under Riviere-Hèrard, the [[Dominican Republic]] declared its independence from Haiti.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Border Disputes|last=Brunet-Jailly|first=Emmanuel|date=2015|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610690249|oclc=915418557}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===
In 1915, the [[United States Marines]], led by Admiral [[William B. Caperton]], entered Port-au-Prince and began the [[United States occupation of Haiti]]. The U.S. took over the collection of revenues and banks in Haiti for 19 years. American forces withdraw from Haiti in 1934 marking the end of the U.S. occupation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lopez|first=Patricia J|date=2015-11-27|title=Clumsy beginnings: from 'modernizing mission' to humanitarianism in the US occupation of Haiti (1915–34)|journal=Environment and Planning A|language=en|volume=47|issue=11|pages=2240–2256|doi=10.1177/0308518x15598262|bibcode=2015EnPlA..47.2240L |s2cid=146946226 }}</ref> In 1957, [[François Duvalier]], also known as "Papa Doc", was elected President of Haiti. In 1964, he declared himself president for life and established that his son, [[Jean-Claude Duvalier]], known as "Baby Doc", would succeed him. During their regime, opposition to the government was not tolerated; thus, the Duvaliers used violence and terror to suppress the masses, killing about 30,000 Haitians. Finally, in 1986, a series of uprisings forced Baby Doc to flee Haiti for France. The Duvalier family stole millions of dollars during their administration, leaving Haiti in extreme debt today.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brunello|first=Anthony R.|date=January 2017|title=Duvalier Takes Power in Haiti|journal=Salem Press Encyclopedia}}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
On February 29, 2004, a [[2004 Haitian coup d'état|coup d'état]] led by the [[Group of 184]] ousted the popularly elected president, [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]], allegedly with the assistance of the French and United States governments; U.S. and French soldiers were on the ground in Haiti at the time, recently arrived ([[2004 Haitian coup d'état#Controversy regarding US involvement|See controversy]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4416174|title=French, U.S. troops fan out from Haiti's capital|website=[[NBC News]] |date=19 March 2004|access-date=14 December 2016}}</ref>

The first elections since the overthrow were held on [[Haitian elections, 2006|February 8, 2006]] to elect a new [[President (government title)|President]]. [[René Préval]] was declared to have won with over 50 percent of the vote. In 2008, Parliament voted to dismiss President Preval's  Prime Minister following severe rioting over [[food prices]].<ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344729.stm
|title= Haitian senators vote to fire PM
|publisher=news.bbc.co.uk
|access-date=2008-07-10
| date=April 12, 2008
}}
</ref> His selected replacement for the post was rejected by Parliament, throwing the country into a prolonged period without a government.<ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7397541.stm
|title=Haiti MPs reject new PM candidate
|publisher=news.bbc.co.uk
|access-date=2008-07-10
| date=May 13, 2008
}}
</ref>

=== Today ===
[[Haiti]] is officially a semi-[[Presidential system|president]]ial [[republic]]. However, sources such as the [[Democracy Index]] have described Haiti as a [[hybrid regime|hybrid]] or [[authoritarian regime]] in practice.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Democracy Index 2021: the China challenge|url= https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/eiu-democracy-index-2021.pdf?mkt_tok=NzUzLVJJUS00MzgAAAGDWhBlxfqM9cMZEewC0HoBG0xhm9PFkxb-_IqDsjlxRZgDssKgB0pHGt7yS48UFv94hU4ZW0C_jXaFfmK_5TbL23wtQarQv22nFbg8ZTnHQrrcPg |website=Economist Intelligence Unit|language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Suffrage]] is [[Universal suffrage|universal]], for adults over 18.

The [[Constitution of Haiti|constitution]] was rewritten by the [[United States]] to model those of the [[United States]] and of [[France]]. It was approved in March 1987, but it was completely suspended from June 1988 to March 1989 and was only fully reinstated in October 1994.

In May 2024 United Nations agencies reported that criminal groups control around 85 percent of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital and its metropolitan area. Having rapidly expanded into previously secure areas of the Capital, the gangs have spread into key regions such as Haiti's agricultural areas the Ouest and Artibonite departments. <ref name=":0" /> Experts say the Government do not have the capacity to take back control, despite support from an international security force including at least 800 Kenyan police officers.<ref name=":1" />