Daniel Fignole, Ex-Haiti Leader, Dies
Daniel Fignole, the highly popular mathematics teacher who served 19 days as president of Haiti in 1957 before he was toppled in a military coup, died Wednesday, hospital officials said. He was 71.
Fignole had returned to Haiti in March after 29 years of exile in New York. He left Haiti after being removed from power by the army, which subsequently killed hundreds of his supporters in the slums of Port-au-Prince.
The cause of his death was not given, but he had been in poor health in recent years. News of his death was reported on all Haitian radio stations.
Fignole was a populist who drew his main support from the thousands of poor Haitians who lived in the slums of the capital.
He once counted Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier among his followers, but he subsequently predicted that, “if you let Francois Duvalier take power, he will never, never give it back.”
Fignole became interim president May 25, 1957, in a compromise with the army and other politicians. Nineteen days later, Gen Antonio Kebreau removed him from office.
Fignole left the country June 15.
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