François Duvalier (rechts) met David Tercero Castro (links) in 1968
François Duvalier (Port-au-Prince, April 14, 1907 - April 21, 1971), nicknamed Papa Doc, was president and dictator of Haiti.
He grew up in Port-au-Prince and was educated as a doctor. He made merit in combating typhus and other infectious diseases. In 1939, he married Simone Ovide and became General Director of National Health Service in 1946. In 1949, he became Minister of Health and Labor.
After 1956, when President Paul Magloire was resigned in 1956, elections took place in 1957. Duvalier defeated his rival Dejoie, and for the first time he took on a black president on Haiti on October 22. Initially, he was popular and he seemed to do something about poverty and illiteracy. But in 1959, after a failed invasion from Communist Cuba, he seemed to no longer trust anyone. In 1961 he reappointed while his six-year term was still over, and from 1964 until his death he ruled as a dictator. He remained in the saddle with American aid.
Duvalier had a full grip on the army and a courageous and violent secret police (Tonton Macoutes). He was a fan of the vodou religion and tried to reduce the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. Twelve times a primacy was rejected, and in 1964 the whole Order of Jesuits became extinct.
After his death, he was succeeded by his son Jean-Claude alias Baby Doc. Both Papa Doc and Baby Doc were appointed 'for life' and both were a terrorist war. Also see
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