Recent History

Recent history

2006

February René Préval is elected president, defeating U.S.-backed and other candidates in an election overseen by U.N. peacekeepers

2008

April Riots break out in Les Cayes and Port-au-Prince over high food prices, forcing the ouster of Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis.

August Tropical Storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike strike within a month, leaving nearly 800 people dead and wiping out a quarter of the economy. (to September)

November The Pétionville school collapse and the Grace Divine School collapse.

2009

May Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is appointed U.N. special envoy to Haiti. He is tasked with reinvigorating the country’s moribund economy after the 2008 storms.

2010

12 January A major earthquake, 7.0 on the Richter scale, kills over 230,000 and causes massive damage to buildings and infrastructure in Port-au-Prince.

2011-2016

Martelly was sworn in as President on 14 May 2011, marking the first time in Haitian history that an incumbent president peacefully transferred power to a member of the opposition.

2016
Interim president Jocelerme Privert, who took office on February 14, 2016. Until the elections of October, 2016.

2017

Jovenel Moise is the President of Haiti since February 2017. Previously, final official results had shown him as the winner of the November 2016 election with an estimated voter turnout of 21%.